Iga Swiatek reveals she ‘was so tight’ while training under Rafael Nadal’s watchful eye
It is not every day that you are coached by your childhood idol. Yet that is exactly what happened as Iga Swiatek trained under the watchful eye of her hero Rafael Nadal long with her new coach Francisco Roig.
Following her decision to replace Wim Fissette with Roig, Swiatek kicked off her clay-court preparations at the famed Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca with tennis great Nadal also on hand to offer some advice.
And just like any ordinary Nadal fan, Swiatek was a bit starstruck at the start as she told reporters in Madrid: “First 15 minutes of practice, I was so tight. I was like, ‘Oh my God, how should I play? He’s watching, he’s right there, you know’.
“But honestly, it was my first days outside on clay. So I also gave myself space to… he was like, actually, he knows how it is. So he had like every possible experience probably on the court. So no one expected me to already play perfectly.”
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Once she got comfortable with Nadal’s presence at practice, the six-time Grand Slam winner made the most of the learning experience, and who wouldn’t want to receive tips from the greatest clay-court player of all time?
“I feel like Rafa gave Francis more space to coach me, especially that these days where Rafa was on court were the first two days of me getting to know Francis,” she explained.
“But from time to time, he was also giving me tips and also telling me some stories, how he struggled with some stuff and how he managed to work on them and what were his solutions.
“So it was really nice to get that perspective. He for sure has, obviously, a really good eye. So I feel like immediately he knew what to tell me sometimes. But still, these were like first practices on clay. So for me, it was a big challenge to have two new people on the court and start playing on clay after hard court. But it was really exciting.
“And honestly, it was probably one of the best practice weeks I had before a clay-court season. So I’m really happy that I could experience that.”
After a week at the academy in Spain, Swiatek started her new adventure with Roig by her side at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix where she won her opening match against Laura Siegemund before losing in three sets against Mirra Andreeva in the quarter-final.
But the reigning world No 4 knows this is only the beginning as it will take some time before the partnership with Roig flourishes.
“It is always a process of difficult decisions because, obviously, you talk to a coach, but until you are by their side and see how the coach sees it and how they react to things, it’s hard to judge whether it’s the right step or not,” the Pole said.
“We met in Mallorca, and I had the opportunity to practice with him for 10 days before my first match in Stuttgart. I thought it was great. He has a good eye and quickly knows what the player needs. He also knew exactly what I had done wrong and what we needed to improve. So we had the same opinions.
“The other thing is starting to work well in tennis, which is always a process. It’s not something that happens in a week or a month. You have to change some things in your mind to make them automatic.
“I am trying to be patient and work hard every day, but I don’t expect to suddenly be perfect. But the idea is there, and the process has started, so I am very happy and motivated to work.”