Serena Williams’ Former Coach Pinpoints Major Problem in Iga Swiatek’s Game That’s “Too Predictable”

Iga Swiatek is currently competing at the Madrid Open and has already played her opening-round match. She dismantled qualifier Daria Snigur 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday (April 23).

At present, Swiatek is working with Francisco Roig, who also worked with Rafael Nadal for 18 years. Swiatek, who will be hoping to reach a semifinal for the first time this season, suffered an opening-round exit at the Miami Open, following which, she parted ways with coach Wim Fissette. She worked alongside Nadal at his academy in Mallorca.

When she returned to the tour at the Stuttgart Open, Swiatek once again suffered a quarterfinal exit. The Pole registered a three-set defeat at the hands of Mirra Andreeva, following which, Serena Williams‘ former coach, Rennae Stubbs, pinpointed the problem in Swiatek’s game.

I think the biggest takeaway for me with Iga is the serve, it’s too predictable, Andreeva went after a couple of really big returns of serve. She tends to hit that same big kick serve that doesn’t bounce up like [Elena] Rybakina or [Aryna] Sabalenka’s and gets out of the hitting position, and she’s attackable on the second serve.

Rennae Stubbs said on her The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast

Swiatek will next face either Alycia Parks or Ann Li. She is a former champion in Madrid, having won in 2024 by defeating World No.1 Sabalenka. The 24-year-old also made the final in 2024 but failed to go past the four-time Grand Slam singles champion.

She has to work on her serve. She is a good 5’10, 5’11, and she is strong, but this serve is not a weapon like it could be. I think she got into trouble with that because Mirra Andreeva, who is about the same size, has a better serve, period. That is how she got out of a lot of problems; she had a lot of break points where she came out of it a lot better than Iga did.

Rennae Stubbs added

Swiatek is playing in her second tournament under the guidance of Roig. With Fissette, she won one Grand Slam title, the 2025 Wimbledon.

Iga Swiatek makes her feelings known on her performance at the Madrid Open

Iga Swiatek has won 10 of her 25 singles titles on clay, the last of which she lifted by defeating Jasmine Paolini at the 2024 French Open. She, in fact, has won eight Big Titles on the surface, including three at the Italian Open.

Last year in Madrid, Swiatek’s run was ended by eventual runner-up Coco Gauff in the semifinals. Following her latest win, Swiatek analyzed her game and said she is very happy to adapt to the conditions in the Spanish capital.

Very happy. Madrid is a special place to play because of how special the tournament is, but also because of the conditions. I am happy I was able to adapt to them and just played my game. You need to be ready for opponents to take time away, but at the same time, you need to be solid and not rush decisions because it’s easy to lose control, so I stayed patient and solid and picked the right balls.

Iga Swiatek said during her on-court interview

This year, Swiatek has lifted one title, but it was with her Polish teammates. At the United Cup, Poland beat Switzerland to win its first title in the tournament.

The last time Swiatek won a singles title was at the 2025 Korea Open by defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova. Last year, she reached four finals, losing the Bad Homburg Open to Jessica Pegula and winning the Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open against Amanda Anisimova and Jasmine Paolini, respectively.

Also read: Alexandra Eala Reveals the Greatest Advice Given to her by Rafael Nadal

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