Iga Swiatek brought in Francisco Roig as her new coach ahead of the clay-court swing.
The two worked together at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Manacor before heading to Germany for the Stuttgart Open.
Ahead of the event, Swiatek spoke about adjustments she’s made since working with Roig.
Iga Swiatek talks serve adjustment and baseline focus since coaching change
In a conversation with Eurosport, Swiatek was asked about how her work with Roig has been going so far.
“We focused more on the baseline game, but the serve is something that I’ve been changing quite a lot in my life,” she said.
“I’ve got to say, I didn’t really feel comfortable with the last movement that I had.
“I was thinking, should I make the change right now in the middle of the season or wait?
“But honestly, if you feel uncomfortable with something, you can’t really continue if you’re not 100% in your head, committed to it.
“So I changed the movement to get my elbow in the back a little bit more bent, which can give me, I think, more speed and more dynamics later on.”
Swiatek has never been one of tour’s most powerful servers and her numbers this season don’t paint a great picture either.
The Polish player isn’t inside top 20 for any of tennis’ main seven serving statistics.
She will be hoping her new approach can help those numbers increase but understands there will be an adjustment period involved before she finds full consistency.
Iga Swiatek to Open Stuttgart campaign against Laura Siegemund
With a bye through the first round, Iga Swiatek’s tournament opener in Stuttgart will be against home favourite Laura Siegemund.
Swiatek has won both of their previous encounters comfortably, giving up just seven games across the two matches.
If she advances as expected, Swiatek could face Mirra Andreeva in the quarter-finals. The Russian is coming off another title win, having beaten Anastasia Potapova in the Linz Open final.
The 17-year-old has put together a strong season so far, and Swiatek will need to be sharp if she wants to move into the last four.
If she does get past Andreeva, a semi-final meeting with top seed Elena Rybakina could be next. Rybakina has been one of this year’s standout players and took down Swiatek during her run to the Stuttgart title last year.
Based on current form, Rybakina would likely go into that match as the favourite. But with her track record on clay and a new coaching setup behind her, it wouldn’t be wise to write off Swiatek’s chances.
Coco Gauff or Elina Svitolina could then await in the final if she manages to upset Rybakina in the semis. But for now, all focus will be on getting past Siegemund and taking things one match at a time.
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