“She’s such a great champion,” Nick Kyrgios’ former coach on how Iga Swiatek has followed in her idol Rafael Nadal’s footsteps

Like Nadal, Swiatek has established herself as a clay court specialist, highlighted by her four titles at the French Open.

“She’s such a great champion,” Nick Kyrgios’ former coach on how Iga Swiatek has followed in her idol Rafael Nadal’s footsteps

Rafael Nadal, Iga Swiatek and Simon Rea (inside circle) (via Imago)

Iga Swiatek has been dubbed the female Rafael Nadal of her generation after an outstanding clay season this year. That said, the reason for the praise can be traced to Nadal’s achievements in the sport, with Nick Kyrgios’ former coach Simon Rea stating that the two have some similarities.

The majority of Nadal’s success has come on clay, with a whopping 63 titles, including a record 14 at the French Open. One of his strongest performances on the surface came in 2010 when the Spaniard won all four major clay tournaments — Monte Carlo Masters, Madrid Open, Italian Open, and French Open.

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Swiatek has also shown her strengths on clay. This season, she won the Madrid Open, Italian Open, and French Open. She lost only one set en route to clinching the Roland Garros title. In the clay swing this year, she has defeated a slew of strong players to further highlight her dominance on the surface, including World No. 2 Coco Gauff, World No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka (twice), and four-time Grand Slam champion Noami Osaka.

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With both Swaitek and Nadal having similar styles on clay, former New Zealand player Rea stated that the pair have continually improved their technique. He also praised the WTA World No. 1 for working on her serve to become a better player.

Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek (via Imago)

There are parallels between [Rafael Nadal] and [Iga Swiatek] in their want to continually grow and improve from a technical perspective. Swiatek has also changed her serve technique; she’s not standing still here, and this is why she’s such a great champion.

Simona Rea said in an interview with AusOpen.com.

Iga Swiatek begins training at Wimbledon after Berlin Open withdrawal

Iga Swiatek withdrew from the Berlin Ladies Open after an intense nine weeks in which she won three clay titles. Following a short break, she arrived in Wimbledon and resumed training ahead of the grass Major.

Iga Swiatek Wimbledon
Iga Swiatek Wimbledon (via Imago)

At the Championships last year, Swiatek made a quarterfinal exit following a three-set defeat to Ukrainian Elina Svitolina. While the 23-year-old has won the junior Wimbledon title in 2020, she is yet to taste success at the event on the WTA tour.

The Polish star recently took to social media to give her fans an update about her Wimbledon preparations.

In the video, Swatek can be seen playing her trademark forehand which has become one of her biggest weapons. Having won five titles this season, more than any player in both the men’s and women’s circuits, she will be eager to make her mark on grass when the Championships get underway on July 1.

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