Iga Swiatek is already getting tips from her idol Rafa Nadal after the Spaniard was seen coaching the world No 4 at his academy in Mallorca.

As well as the expertise that Francisco Roig provides, an added bonus of Swiatek’s new coaching setup is the chance to learn from a player she has confessed to being her favourite.

After Swiatek confirmed the appointment of Roig on her social media, footage began to emerge of her practising at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca and one clip shows Nadal teaching her a specific skill.

In the video, Nadal produces his trademark whipped forehand before explaining to Swiatek how he pulls it off.

Coach Brad Gilbert, who commented on the video, described it as “priceless” for Swiatek.

Swiatek has been training on the Spanish island in recent days and already took to social media to praise the 22-time Grand Slam winner.

“Training, learning and embracing each day here in Mallorca. Thank you @rafaelnadal for making me feel at home,” she wrote.

In the past, Swiatek has not been backwards in coming forwards about her love of the Spaniard and offered a glowing tribute when he hung up his racket.

“You were and still are the biggest inspiration that I ever had in tennis and the reason why sometimes I got extra motivated and kept pushing myself.

“Thank you for that and thank you for being such an amazing person off the court as well. Your humility is something that is not so often [seen] when you see other athletes succeeding.

“You’re the one that always stayed honest with himself and true to himself. Thank you for being a really good person.

“I hope you’re going to enjoy the other part of your life and hopefully maybe some other career, because the sky is the limit for you now and I hope you will spend a lot of time with your close ones and your family.”

As for why she changed coaches to Nadal’s former mentor, Swiatek admitted during an interview with Sport.pl that she was not feeling good on the court.

“I felt it was simply time for a change. Yes, it wasn’t a decision made in Miami — it was a longer process during which I carefully considered everything,” she said.

“During the tournament in Doha, I realised I wasn’t feeling as good on court as I had before.

“Of course, different tournaments can have different reasons for a poor performance – sometimes I just know I wasn’t focused that day, sometimes my forehand was failing, sometimes something else. It happens. But I felt like I wasn’t playing as well, and that’s why I started losing confidence.

“After my loss to Maria Sakkari [in Doha], we sat down and had a long talk. We discussed what to change and how to approach the following week so I could get back to my solid game.

“And indeed, we made some progress before Indian Wells. But when I considered the whole picture, I decided I needed a change.”

The next tournament on Swiatek’s schedule should be the Stuttgart Open which has traditionally been her start to the clay season.

In Germany, she is a two-time champion having claimed back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023 — beating Aryna Sabalenka in both finals — and was a 2024 semi-finalist and 2025 quarter-finalist.