Kim Clijsters Surprised by Francisco Roig’s Conduct After Dropping Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard for Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek was seen training with Francisco Roig at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain.

Kim Clijsters Surprised by Francisco Roig’s Conduct After Dropping Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard for Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek, Francisco Cerundolo, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Kim Clijsters (via X/Ollly Tennis/ Univers Tennis)

In Short
  • Francisco Roig faced criticism for dropping Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard without direct communication.
  • Kim Clijsters expressed surprise at Roig's conduct, highlighting a lack of loyalty.
  • Perricard has struggled on tour, not winning a match since February.

Rafael Nadal’s ex-coach, Francisco Roig, has come under huge criticism following his conduct when he decided to drop Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard for Iga Swiatek. Former World No.1 Kim Clijsters admitted that she was surprised that the respectable coach with so much experience could behave that way.

Roig had worked with Nadal for over a decade on tour and played a major role in the Spaniard’s 22 Grand Slam triumph on tour. However, after some months with no job on tour, he partnered with Emma Raducanu last August, but their partnership only lasted for six months. The pair parted ways after this year’s Australian Open.

A few weeks later, Roig started working with Perricard, but their partnership ended after a month. The Spanish coach dumped the Frenchman and partnered with six-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek. It was at the Rafael Nadal Academy that she announced the partnership and was seen training with Roig and Nadal.

Swiatek had confirmed her decision to split with Wim Fisette last month following her exit from the Miami Open. After announcing Roig as her new coach, replacing Fisette, Perricard was disappointed with the Spanish coach’s conduct. In an interview, he revealed that Roig never told him he was abandoning him for Swiatek, and he got to know about it from his agent.

Since then, Roig has come under heavy criticism, with several pundits suggesting that he showed no sign of loyalty. In the latest episode of the Love All podcast, former World No.1 Kim Clijsters pointed out that Roig’s behavior was unbelievable and that it is very disappointing for him not to have discussed with Perricard before their split:

That’s unbelievable. It is [tough for Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard] and to me, a little bit surprising, to hear it happened like that. I think that everything that’s attached to Rafa [Nadal], you set a very high standard, so it was surprising to hear that there was maybe no [discussion]… unless maybe he missed something! I don’t know, if there was no conversation, that’s understandably disappointing from his side.

Perricard is currently struggling on tour. He has not won a match since February. His last match victory came at the Dubai Tennis Championships, where he reached the round of 16 before losing to Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Frenchman didn’t compete in the ongoing Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco.

Tennis Pundit analyzes Emma Raducanu’s former coach’s behavior towards Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard

When Emma Raducanu hired Francisco Roig to become her coach last August, there was a lot of praise about the move. It was expected that the experienced Spanish coach would help her game improve and add value to her career. But that didn’t work out that way as Raducanu struggled on the court.

Francisco Roig and Emma Raducanu (via X/Raducanu News)
Francisco Roig and Emma Raducanu (via X/Raducanu News)

Raducanu didn’t reach a final under the guidance of Roig, and they immediately parted ways. She finished as runner-up at the Transylvania Open in February, he first championship match since 2021. During the aforementioned podcast, co-host Blair Henley revealed that Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard saw Roig as being ruthless:

He was with him for a month-ish and then we hear the announcement about a week ago that he has joined Iga’s team and Mpetshi Perricard went on the record and said ‘Yeah, he didn’t tell me [he was leaving]. He told my agent, he didn’t tell me directly. And he used the term, I’m sure it was translated, it’s a ‘ruthless world’.

Raducanu has played just 14 matches on tour this season as injuries and illness have disrupted her progress on tour. The British star pulled out of the Miami Open, which saw her lose plenty of points and eventually saw her drop out of the top 30 in the WTA rankings after making some progress last season.

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