Francis Roig reveals the key to Swiatek's improvement in her game

Iga Swiatek and Francis Roig form one of the most media-friendly pairs on the WTA circuit. The Polish tennis player decided to hire Rafa Nadal's former coach to break free from the crisis of results and performance she had been experiencing for some time, and during the North American tour, they have reaped the rewards. Nevertheless, there is still much work to be done, something the Spaniard highlighted after revealing all the effort behind their collaboration and their short-term objectives after changing her playing style.

During the clay court and grass court tours, Swiatek still appeared a bit more hesitant, without much change, but she has allowed herself to be guided by Francis's instructions, and on the North American hard court tour, they won the title at WTA Toronto, as well as reaching the semifinals at WTA Cincinnati. It is true that they suffered a painful loss to Qinwen Zheng at the US Open, but her focus is now on accumulating the necessary points to qualify for the WTA Finals, as they currently occupy the number 10 position in the Race.

In an interview with 'Radio Zet', Francis revealed that he spoke with Iga after Wimbledon to readjust her game, three months after their partnership began. "From the beginning, I couldn't make many changes because we started working together at a difficult time for her. Her confidence was not at its best. I told her that as we entered the most important part of her clay season, there was no time to make changes to her game. After Wimbledon would be the right moment. I wanted to tell Iga what I really thought and what my observations were. I asked her, 'If you really want to do this, I believe I can help you, but you have to be open to change.' And she was completely willing," he revealed.

The key to Swiatek's success on hard courts

Many were surprised by Swiatek's remarkable improvement on hard courts, but according to Roig, it was the result of hard work and sacrifice through a flawlessly executed plan. "We moved to Barcelona. We had fifteen very intense training sessions. Above all, I wanted to change the way Iga plays. Not everything has to happen so quickly. We need to play tennis, not ping-pong. Iga is known for her excellent footwork. She has very good shots. We needed a new playing style. Different movements, a different swing. A different acceleration. In fact, everything had to be a bit different, including the calmness in her game. That’s why I told Iga that after Wimbledon, we had a lot of technical work to do."

In fact, the Spanish coach went into detail about what he asked Iga to improve. "I suggested to her that since she is in good physical shape and moves well on the court, let’s try to play in a way that allows the ball to stay in the air a bit longer. I wanted her to use her forehand more, complementing her backhand. With the backhand, I wanted her to add more spin and have more time between shots. Because if it's played too quickly, everything happens much faster. This can create more stress and doesn’t necessarily work in a match.

The same was true for her second serve. I didn't like it when she got too close to the baseline, and she had been playing that way for months. If her second serve is not a truly powerful shot, the best players in the world can take advantage of it. Our goal was to generate momentum from the back of the court and then get an easier ball in the rallies. That’s why I told Iga that after Wimbledon, we had a lot of technical work ahead, but this technique was very related to footwork," he concluded.

The importance of the title in Toronto for Swiatek and Roig

Another detail Roig observed was the number of unforced errors Swiatek was making, which affected her performance and mindset. "The first rule of tennis is to not make mistakes. I am sure that when Iga was not progressing, she often lost. It wasn’t that the other player beat her; it was us who were losing. Iga was making errors too frequently on her first serve. She was trying too hard when it wasn't necessary. She needs to play more solidly. In Toronto, she improved significantly in this aspect and also hit higher quality balls.

All of these instructions paid off in Toronto, where the Polish tennis player won the title and saw a ray of hope in a rather gloomy season. "It's very important. When you see a player day in and day out, you realize how difficult it can be to achieve your own results. And then there's the huge challenge of winning the tournament again. That means much more to her than to players who are already used to winning trophies. I remember a tournament in Indian Wells with Rafa Nadal. He was injured for a time and couldn't play. He told me, 'If we win two or three matches here, I'll be more than happy.' He won the whole tournament, and it was incredible. It was something similar with Iga. It was very important for her confidence," Roig acknowledged.

The setback for Swiatek at the US Open and the goal of the WTA Finals

Despite the improvement, Swiatek fell dramatically at the US Open against Qinwen Zheng in the round of 16 after being up 5-0 in the first set and squandering the lead. A cold shower that Roig takes in stride. "I didn't expect such a turn in the match against Zheng, but after so many years watching matches, it no longer surprises me. It is noteworthy that Iga had three set points in the first set. These things happen. And when you lose a game like that, it’s not easy. I also want to point out that Qinwen played quite well: she didn’t make many errors and moved well. Iga felt she was making too many forehand errors. Later, when I watched the match, I understood what it was like. It was really hard to watch it again."

The best thing is to wipe the slate clean, approach the Asian tour with positivity, and accumulate as many points as possible to qualify for the WTA Finals, which is her main objective. "We want to keep improving, but it's a process. I think we are on the right track. There is still a long way to go, but yes, the WTA Finals is our goal. However, if we don't achieve it, it won't be the end of the world. We will have a bit more time to prepare as best as possible for the next season. We want to try to achieve the best possible results without focusing on the WTA Finals," she concluded.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Francis Roig desvela la clave de la mejora en el juego de Swiatek