{"id":106746,"date":"2026-04-20T15:26:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T14:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/?p=106746"},"modified":"2026-04-20T15:42:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T14:42:46","slug":"swiatek-ready-for-madrid-after-best-practice-weeks-with-roig-and-nadal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/swiatek-ready-for-madrid-after-best-practice-weeks-with-roig-and-nadal\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiatek ready for Madrid after \u2018best practice weeks\u2019 with Roig and Nadal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Change is never easy; but when it comes with a set of common goals and some wisdom from a lifelong idol, it can quickly become something exciting rather than daunting.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Iga Swiatek, hiring Francis Roig as her new coach and getting to spend her first few days of practice on clay under the watchful eye of her biggest inspiration, Rafael Nadal, was the perfect way to kickstart this new chapter of her career \u2013 one where she hopes to get back to fundamentals and regain her reputation of being \u201ca wall\u201d on the court.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Swiatek got acquainted with Roig, who happens to share the same vision for her game.<\/span><\/p>\n

She also had Nadal join them on court for some of her practice sessions, and the six-time Grand Slam champion admits she felt some nerves training in front of her idol.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFirst 15 minutes of practice, I was so tight,\u201d Swiatek told reporters at the Caja Magica in Madrid on Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018Oh my God, how should I play? He’s watching, he’s right there, you know\u2019. But honestly, it was my first days outside on clay. So I also gave myself space to\u2026 he was like, actually, he knows how it is. So he had like every possible experience probably on the court. So no one expected me to already play perfectly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Swiatek, who is seeded No.4 in the Spanish capital and opens her campaign against Daria Kasatkina or a qualifier, is allowing herself the time to translate what she\u2019s been working on with Roig from the practice court to the match court.<\/span><\/p>\n

She believes they\u2019re \u201cgoing the right way\u201d and \u201cwe understand each other pretty well\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although she studied the language in school, Swiatek joked that her Spanish skills are currently limited to ordering \u201cdos bocadillos, por favor\u201d. Roig will no doubt help her in that department as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Focusing on footwork<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

A champion in Madrid in 2024, and a finalist in 2023, Swiatek explained on Monday where she feels her game started to go awry after years of dominance on tour \u2013 particularly on the red dirt.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I feel it’s the way of practising. And I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of, like, closed patterns. And the rallies sometimes on my practices were kind of short. Where sometimes I needed really to feel solid. And you need to have this feeling in your hand that you’re not going to miss a ball, you know?\u201d said the 24-year-old.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I feel, honestly, this Spanish type of coaching really helps that. Because Spanish players are usually, like, really solid, really fighting for every point. And, like, being ready for long rallies as well. So that’s why I feel like we have the same goals with Francis.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like after these practices in Mallorca, I’ve been able to not make any rash decisions. For example, when I play, like, sixth or seventh shot in a rally. Which I kind of did for the last year. So also the decision-making needs to change if you want to be more of a grinder. And sometimes not take too much risk if you don’t need to.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Swiatek is regarded as one of the premier movers on tour, but her footwork has been a particular area of focus during her preparation for this clay-court swing.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Polish star felt like she had been trying too hard to be lower, instead of moving smoothly around the court, and she was taking unnecessary extra steps that used up too much of her energy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrancis is more about me staying high on the court and not really leaning too much forward or backwards because basically movement starts all of that,\u201d she added.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018He has a good eye\u2019<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Swiatek began her clay-court swing with a quarter-final loss to Mirra Andreeva in Stuttgart last week, but she\u2019s pleased with how things are progressing, given the recent changes in her team.<\/span><\/p>\n

After settling her nerves in those early practice sessions with Nadal, was she able to soak up the experience of having the 22-time major champion in her corner?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like Rafa gave Francis more space to coach me, especially that these days where Rafa was on court were the first two days of me getting to know Francis. But from time to time, he was also giving me tips and also telling me some stories, how he struggled with some stuff and how he managed to work on them and what were his solutions,\u201d Swiatek revealed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo it was really nice to get that perspective. He for sure has, obviously, a really good eye. So I feel like immediately he knew what to tell me sometimes. But still, these were like first practices on clay. So for me, it was a big challenge to have two new people on the court and start playing on clay after hard court. But it was really exciting.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd honestly, it was probably one of the best practice weeks I had before a clay-court season. So I’m really happy that I could experience that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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pic.twitter.com\/nFuIY8vW7P<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Out of Context Iga \u015awi\u0105tek (@SwiatekOOC) April 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n