Iga Swiatek’s spent time at the University of Southern California preparing for the end-of-season tournament. Wearing a USC shirt, Swiatek shared pictures that showed her at the USC gym and its tennis courts.

At USC, Iga Swiatek was accompanied by her team – coach Piotr Sierzputowski, physiotherapist Maciej Ryszczuk and the psychologist Daria Abramowicz.

Iga Swiatek won the 2020 French Open and became the first Polish woman to win a grand slam singles title. She also became the youngest women’s champion at the French Open since Monica Seles in 1992.

USC men’s tennis is a powerhouse in college athletics. USC has won 21 NCCA national titles. Among the current players, Steve Johnson went to USC. He won 72 consecutive matches when playing for USC. He was the NCAA singles champion in 2011 and 2012. After turning professional, he reached a peak ranking of world number 21 in 2016. He is currently ranked 88 in the world.

Aslan Karatsev is currently without a coach. He previously worked with Yahor Yatsyk for 3 years.  They split in late 2021 but the reasons for the split were not clear. From 2011 to 2013 he was coached by Andrey Kesarev.

While his split Yatsyk surprised fans, it’s not uncommon for players to split with their coach after an impressive run. Travelling can be grueling for coaches. Players also look to bring in new perspectives to take their game to the next level.

Given how much Aslan Karatsev improved under the guidance of Yahor Yatsyk, Yatsyk is one of the best coaches on the tour and certainly a strong candidate for Coach of The Year.

2021 was a dream year for Karatsev. He reached the semifinals at the Australian Open, won his first title, and reached the Top 20 in world rankings. He also won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in mixed doubles with Elena Vesnina.