Iga Swiatek Reveals What She Learned from Rafael Nadal During Practice Session at His Academy

Iga Swiatek is into the fourth round of the French Open. On Friday (March 29), the Pole defeated countrywoman Magda Linette 6-4, 6-4 to take revenge for her Miami Open defeat.

In Miami, Linette knocked out Swiatek in the opening round. The six-time Major champion then headed to Mallorca to train at her idol Rafael Nadal‘s academy, and soon she announced that she had hired his former coach, Francisco Roig. At the press conference after her latest win, Swiatek was asked what she had learned while training in front of the 22-time Grand Slam champion.

It was great. It gave me a lot of motivation and energy that I needed before the clay-court swing. It was a really good week, probably the most intense week of practice that I’ve had lately. And really solid, and Rafa was there for two practices, which I really appreciate.

But despite the practice session, the 24-year-old could not end her title drought in the three tournaments she played on clay before arriving in Paris. Mirra Andreeva defeated her in the quarterfinal of the Stuttgart Open, and later at the Madrid Open, an illness forced her to hand the walkover to Ann Li in the third round. At the Italian Open, eventual runner-up Elina Svitolina eliminated her in the semifinals.

It was a huge honor from him, I mean for me [laughs]… It was a huge honor for me to have him on the court, and the privilege, you know. And yeah, he gave me some technical advice tips, but most of all, we kind of spoke about some of his experiences, and it was really nice to see that he’s so open to giving advice. Really good guy.

Iga Swiatek added

The former World No.1 last reached a clay-court final at the 2024 French Open, where she beat Jasmine Paolini to win her fourth Roland Garros title. Since then, she has played four finals, all last year, winning titles at Wimbledon, Cincinnati Masters, and the Korea Open, and losing the Bad Homburg Open.

Iga Swiatek will play Marta Kostyuk next

Iga Swiatek will next be up against a player who is enjoying decent form this season. After improving her head-to-head record over Magda Linette to 2-1, Swiatek will be hoping to improve her head-to-head record over Marta Kostyuk to a perfect 4-0.

We will do our best; undoubtedly, Marta is having a great season. She has always had the level to play well; she had reached semifinals in major tournaments before, now she won Madrid, so I am happy for her. I will focus on myself, prepare tactically, like before any other match; we will see what happens.

Iga Swiatek said at the press conference

Before arriving in the French capital, Kostyuk went past Mirra Andreeva in the Madrid Open final to win her career’s first Big Title. The Ukrainian ace is on a 14-match winning streak, as before her win in the Spanish capital, she also clinched the Open de Rouen title by beating countrywoman Veronika Podrez. Kostyuk also played one more final. Earlier this year, she lost the Brisbane Open title to World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Swiatek, however, has played just one semifinal this year (at the Italian Open). Last year at the French Open, eventual runner-up Sabalenka knocked her out in the semifinals, also handing her a bagel in the third set.

If Swiatek wins, she will be up against either Elina Svitolina or Belinda Bencic. Before playing in Paris, Svitolina clinched the Italian Open by defeating Coco Gauff. The American is competing as the defending champion. Last year as well, Gauff lost the final of the Rome WTA 1000 event.

Also read: Marta Kostyuk Voices Safety Concerns After Zeynep Sonmez’s Injury at Roland Garros