Iga Swiatek Opens Up About Her Bond with New Coach Francisco Roig After Stuttgart Exit

Iga Swiatek did not get the desired result at the Stuttgart Open. It was the first tournament that the Pole played under the guidance of her new coach, Francisco Roig. Swiatek, after her opening-round exit at the Miami Open, parted ways with coach Wim Fissette.

Prior to the European clay swing, the four-time Roland Garros champion headed to Mallorca to train at her idol Rafael Nadal‘s academy before announcing that she had hired his former coach. Her rivals were warned that Swiatek, after her training session, would rediscover her form and make a strong comeback.

But the 24-year-old, for the second consecutive time, suffered a quarterfinal exit at the Stuttgart Open. Last year, her run ended at the hands of Jelena Ostapenko, while this year, it was Mirra Andreeva who stopped her from inching closer to her third title in the tournament. Following her exit, Swiatek, during the press conference, talked about Roig, saying they are still getting to know each other.

I think for now, you know, we’re getting to know each other. He’s giving me space to kind of figure it out on matches. You know, I have a clear vision of what to do. It’s just sometimes hard to do that. That wasn’t like a main thing today, I would say.

Swiatek will next be playing the Madrid Open, the main draw of which is set to start on April 21. She is a one-time champion in the Spanish capital. After losing the final in 2023 to Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek took her revenge on the Belarusian the following year.

Swiatek has not yet tasted success in a singles tournament since her victory in last year’s Korea Open. The last time she reached a clay-court final was at the 2024 Roland Garros, concluding it in her favor by defeating Jasmine Paolini.

Iga Swiatek warned she may have made a mistake by changing her service motion

Greg Rusedski noticed a change in Iga Swiatek‘s service motion and warned her during his Off Court with Greg podcast that she has probably made a huge mistake, saying she should at least have waited until the off-season. Rusedski noticed the change after her victory over Laura Siegemund in the opening round of the Stuttgart Open.

They tried to loosen up the wrist. But it looks a little bit all over the shop, if I’m going to be polite. This is where I say, sometimes you come into a job and you want to make a change, but that’s what Francisco likes to do at times. And for me, it’s very difficult to do that right away. That’s a thing where you need to do it later on.

This season, Swiatek has now played five tournaments but has yet to progress beyond the quarterfinals. Except in Miami, she reached the last eight of the Australian Open, Qatar Open, and Indian Wells.

She’s always had that elbow quite high, but you can see there is a little tweak he is trying to get in there, and I’m not sure it’s the time and the place, with such a short amount of time coming in there. That’s where I say, sometimes you have to be cautious with the change so close to tournaments.

Greg Rusedski added

In her opening-round match in Madrid, Swiatek will face Daria Kasatkina or a qualifier. Last year in the tournament, eventual runner-up Coco Gauff dismantled her in the semifinals.

Swiatek is a 10-time champion on clay but failed to reach a final on the surface last year. At the French Open, Swiatek’s bid for a four-peat ended with a three-set defeat to eventual runner-up Sabalenka in the semifinals.

Also read: Flavio Cobolli Urges His Girlfriend to ‘Stay Home’ After Losing Munich Open Final

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