‘Nothing really clicked’: How Iga Swiatek is burning through coaches in bid to find way back to top

Swiatek had been so great between 2022 and the first half of 2024, rolling through big titles and rapidly establishing herself as the most successful player of her generation, but the high standard she set challenged the rest of the tour to catch up. The quality of the top 10 has improved dramatically over the past few years, led by Aryna Sabalenka’s transformation. Even after a surprise Wimbledon title last year, Swiatek is ranked No 4. For a player of her calibre, it is not good enough. It came as no surprise when she opted to part ways with her coach, Wim Fissette, last month.

Iga Swiatek shows off the Venus Rosewater Dish after beating Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 to win Wimbledon for the first time, in 2025. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

After a few weeks of training and ample discussions with Roig, it has been interesting to hear Swiatek speak with unusual clarity about the path forward. She possesses some of the most devastating weapons in the game with her destructive forehand, precise backhand and the relentless pressure she imposes on opponents with her return. However, most of her triumphs have also been based on the fine balance between her offensive and defensive skills. She is also one of the best athletes in the sport, meaning she is capable of locking down her game and forcing opponents to miss at any given time. More recently, in most tight matches against other top players, Swiatek would panic and overpress too often, hitting herself off the court. She now believes she must rediscover the sensation of feeling like a “wall” from the baseline, re-establishing the shot tolerance that once provided her with so many options.

She believes her consistency has waned in recent years because she focused on short shot patterns rather than more extended rallies, something she and Roig are trying to rectify. “You need to have this feeling in your head that you’re not going to miss a ball,” she says.

Swiatek’s serve, meanwhile, has been a discussion point for years. She has significantly improved her pace but it has always been her weakest point. Although she has made several changes to her service motion, she always resisted adjusting her elbow placement. Last week in Stuttgart, she emerged for her first tournament of the Roig era having finally done so.

Francisco Roig talks to Iga Swiatek at the Stuttgart Open in April. She lost in the quarter-finals to Mirra Andreeva. Photograph: Robert Prange/Getty Images

When videos of Nadal coaching Swiatek spread across the internet, there was significant attention on the Spaniard seemingly teaching Swiatek how to strike his trademark lasso forehand. Swiatek, however, notes that Nadal was actually more focused on how she moves around the ball.

The Pole has long possessed some of the best footwork in the game on either tour, but Nadal and Roig concluded that Swiatek could sometimes actually be too intense, take too many steps, moving too harshly and striking too many balls off balance.

In some ways, Swiatek’s perspective on her footwork reflects her entire approach to the sport recently. Her intensity, discipline and effort are the driving force behind her success, but sometimes it is actually possible to try too hard: “Totally. 100%,” she says.

“Last year, I was trying really hard and nothing really clicked. So, for sure, I was trying too hard, yeah. I felt like I wanted to be more ready and lower but that made me quite heavy on the ground. You need to find a balance. Tennis is about smoothness and being fluid, adapting to different kinds of situations.”

In recent months, Swiatek has often focused on her mental approach when dissecting difficult results, particularly her tendency to overthink on and off court. Now she seems to have a clear vision for how she wants to play and a determination to address her technical issues with a coach well-suited to the task.

At a time when the top of the women’s tour is so competitive, the road ahead is tough. However, it was Swiatek’s ability and dominant results that played a large part in raising standards. Now she must overcome the monster she created.