Coach Francisco Roig Explains Iga Swiatek’s Drop in Performance by Citing Big 3’s Example

For the first time since 2021, Iga Swiatek will be ending a season without a Grand Slam title to her name. Swiatek, who has spent 125 weeks atop the rankings, now sits in the ninth spot.

Since the 2025 season, the Pole has been dealing with ups and downs on the tour. Last year, she didn’t play a final before the Bad Homburg Open and didn’t win a title before Wimbledon. She went on to take home the Cincinnati Open and the Korea Open.

Then this season, she reached the first final of the season at the Canadian Open and ended it in her favor by defeating World No.1 Elena Rybakina. She next reached the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open before crashing out of the fourth round of the US Open. The only time she made a deep run in Majors this season was at the Australian Open, where her campaign ended in the quarterfinals.

But this is a phase all the best players in the world go through, believes her coach Francisco Roig. He highlighted the rough patches Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and his former protege Rafael Nadal went through in their legendary careers.

All players are susceptible to this, no matter how good they are. Djokovic went through a year and a half like that. I think he even reached World No. 20. Federer also fell behind before winning Grand Slams again. Rafa also had a bad year, although he handled it best. I’d say he reached World No. 8. Iga has also gone through this period. The mental aspect is crucial here.

Francisco Roig told Eurosport

Roig didn’t like the way Swiatek had been playing before, so he wanted her to tweak some aspects of her game. But due to the schedule, it was difficult to make those changes when he joined her team before the clay swing. It was only after Wimbledon that they found the time to work. Roig wanted her to develop into a more well-rounded player.

I love working with the player during tournaments, more than most people do. The process is daily, every day of the year. In a Grand Slam, for example, the day she doesn’t play is used to improve a little, not just to warm up. In fact, she intends to have more training periods and play fewer tournaments.

Francisco Roig added

They discussed skipping the Cincinnati Open so that she could prepare better for the US Open. But she ended up playing because of rankings (Swiatek was the defending champion).

Francisco Roig on whether Iga Swiatek can qualify for the WTA Finals

Iga Swiatek is in Beijing for the China Open. She will face Gao Xinyu or Panna Udvardy in her opening round match. She will be chasing her second title of the tournament after her win in 2023 on her maiden appearance.

After Beijing, she will be competing at the Wuhan Open for the second time in her career. Because of her rankings, Swiatek could end up not qualifying for the WTA Finals. Francisco Roig revealed that Swiatek has made it clear that it won’t be the end of the world for her if she fails to grab a spot for the year-end championships.

If she comes, great. She was the first to say it: ‘If I don’t qualify, we’ll have more training and rest time, but we’ll do everything we can to qualify.’ That’s what she told me.

Francisco Roig told Eurosport

Swiatek won the WTA Finals on her third appearance in 2023 by defeating Jessica Pegula. She has qualified for the event every season since making her debut in 2021. In the last two seasons, she failed to reach the semifinals.

Also read: Novak Djokovic Reveals Reason Behind Decision to Play China Open After 11 Years: “History of My Results Has Been Incredible”