Swiatek wants more play before Roland Garros: "I need more matches to gain confidence"

Andrés Tomás Rico | 8 May 2026 | 17.37

Swiatek seeks playing time before Roland Garros: "I need more matches to gain confidence." Photo: Getty Images

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Iga Swiatek wins by a close margin, but she wins. The Polish player faced a tough test in her debut at the WTA Roma 2026 against Caty McNally. She served for the match in the second set, but it got complicated, and the match extended to a third set. Nevertheless, in that set, the Warsaw native managed to pull away and clinch the hard-fought victory with a score of 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3, after two hours and 45 minutes of battle.

Following this hard-earned victory, and before facing Emma Navarro or Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the third round, the Polish player spoke at the subsequent press conference. She also revealed the incident that led to her coach Francis Roig's Achilles tendon break and emphasized the need to play more matches to regain her best form for Roland Garros.

A tough debut

"Undoubtedly, it wasn't an easy first match. The conditions were quite heavy. The ball was slow. Therefore, there were many long rallies and numerous opportunities to construct points."

"I was very pleased with the first set, then I made some errors. I also felt that Caty was hitting more consistently, defending a lot. I needed to be patient. I'm happy because towards the end of the match, I was solid and used the right shots to attack, but I also had enough patience to stay in the rallies."

Served to close the match in the second set at 5-3…

"Honestly, I want to see that game and check if I did something wrong. I'm not even sure what exactly I did. There were many situations where I was ahead in the third set, and then she got the break back, so I don't exactly remember what happened in that game. But I will watch the match and analyze it."

Iga Swiatek admits she needs to play more matches to regain her level before Roland Garros

"Yes, I definitely wanted to play more matches. It's something I feel I lack. I want to compete more. There are moments during matches where it's clear that I'm a bit lacking rhythm in certain point situations. I think I need more matches to gain confidence in different scenarios. I'm happy to have won today because it gives me another chance."

The Achilles tendon rupture of Francis Roig occurred during practice

"Basically, we were training at Piazza del Popolo. It was supposed to be a live practice. We said, 'Okay, let's play this fun game we'd played before.' I wanted to show it to him. He's very good at volleying. So, we bet 100 euros. I honestly thought I would lose because he was volleying incredibly well. Then I said, 'Maybe we just play within the singles court.' It was essentially half a court. 'Let's play lobs, I want to win and make you move a bit.'

"Well, it was 5-4, and he already had match point. He did a split step and ruptured his Achilles tendon. This happened on Saturday, but by Tuesday, he was operated on in Warsaw. We took care of him a bit. He really wanted to come back; he didn't want to take a break. I appreciate a lot that he's here because it's certainly not easy for him."

Struggles to watch live matches without analyzing

"I watched the Australian Open final between Carlos and Novak. Honestly, I wish I could just be a fan. It's hard not to analyze or compare, although with men, it's different, what you would do, how they're playing, or what they might be feeling. I usually try to draw inspiration from the match and learn something," concluded Iga Swiatek, who aims to play as many matches as possible in Rome as a prelude to Roland Garros.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Swiatek quiere rodaje antes de Roland Garros: "Necesito más partidos para ganar confianza"