Iga Swiatek confirms whether Rafael Nadal will coach her after surprise link-up | Tennis | Sport

Iga Swiatek is starting her clay season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, with new coach Francisco Roig in tow. The world No. 4 split with her old mentor and hired Roig, who previously coached Rafael Nadal and Emma Raducanu, following an early exit at the Miami Open.

Swiatek and Roig enjoyed their first pre-clay swing training block together at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, where Nadal himself was spotted on the practice courts with them, getting fully involved and giving the Polish star plenty of guidance. It was special for Swiatek, who is a self-confessed Nadal fan, and planned to go to his academy long before she had parted ways with ex-coach Wim Fissette and linked up with Roig.

But the six-time Grand Slam champion has now confirmed that Roig is the only one who will work with her moving forward. “My idea of coming to the academy appeared, like, two months ago. I wanted to change something in my preparation before clay, because obviously last clay season didn’t really go out how I planned,” Swiatek said in Stuttgart.

“I wanted to go to Mallorca because I knew the facilities there, I knew the court. I knew I was going to do solid work there without any other distractions. I asked if it would be possible for him to come and maybe be some kind of inspiration, also hear some feedback from him.

“It was really a privilege to have him on the court. I honestly didn’t have many expectations because I know he’s super busy and he has a lot of stuff to do, even though he always has different projects and everything. It’s a real privilege. I was really honoured he was able to be there these couple of days.”

The trip to Nadal’s Mallorcan training centre also provided the perfect opportunity for Swiatek to meet and hire Roig. Although she loved working with both men on the training court, there are no plans for retired 22-time Major winner Nadal to play a bigger role anytime soon.

Swiatek continued: “Since then, I realised that I’m going to have this new coach situation. I also wanted to meet Francisco. I’m happy that they were there at the same time because it also adds even more value, I think, to the process. But now I will continue with Francisco. He will be the person that takes care of the whole process. That’s the plan for now, and no other plans right now.”

The Pole will now turn her attention to the clay – her favourite surface – with Roig now in her corner. Swiatek didn’t have long to find a new mentor after splitting with Fissette late last month, but she feels she’s made the right choice in Roig.

“I’m really happy to start with Francis. I was basically looking for someone with a good eye, really technical, but also a person that is experienced enough to help me through some different kind of situations. I feel like Francisco lived through everything, probably, on tour,” she added.

“For now it’s going really amazing. It’s a start. We’re still getting to know each other. I’m really excited. It was honestly a pretty fast process. I was able to find a new coach pretty fast, which is a positive thing because obviously, when you do that in the middle of the season, it’s nice to have some security in that, so I could already have some even practice period with Francis in Mallorca. It was really nice.”

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