Iga Swiatek Reveals New Changes to Her Game Before Stuttgart Open

Iga Swiatek revealed what she and her new coach have worked on ahead of the clay court season.

Iga Swiatek changed coaches before the start of the clay court season. | IMAGO / Eibner

Iga Swiatek is quick to admit that she does not take big decisions lightly or make them quickly on the fly. However, if there were a good time to make a midseason coaching change, it would be between the end of the Sunshine Swing and the start of the clay court season.

Swiatek's struggles on clay last year cost her the WTA World No. 1 spot, but that means she has less to lose this spring. After replacing Wim Fissette with Francisco Roig last month, Swiatek is preparing for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (also called the Stuttgart Open). Swiatek discussed her new coach on Tuesday during her media availability.

Swiatek's coaching decision

Iga Swiatek and Wim Fissette at the Miami Open. | IMAGO / NurPhoto

"Well, you know, it's never an easy decision," said Swiatek. "It's something that I don't make decisions quickly and changes quickly. So, obviously, it was a whole process, but I managed to find the new coach quickly and I'm really happy about that because it's the middle of the season, so you need to reset quickly and start a new process to be ready for next tournament.

So, yeah, I honestly was looking for someone who has a really good eye and technically is really good in terms of helping players to improve and feel good, and feel that also with some exercises you can make some stuff automatic.

So, obviously it's a process, so I don't expect the changes to come quickly, but I already felt on the court that we have a similar point of view and we see things similar way on the court, and that's the most important thing because you need to have the same idea and same vision."

Swiatek's new serve

Iga Swiatek serves at Indian Wells. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

When asked if she and Roig had focused on making changes to her serve, Swiatek clarified, "Not really. We focused more on the baseline game, but the serve is something that I've been changing quite a lot in my life, and I got to say that I didn't really feel comfortable with the last movement that I had. So, I was thinking, should I make the change right now in the middle of the season or wait?"

Swiatek said of her serve, "But, honestly, if you feel uncomfortable with something, then 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 more speed and more dynamics later on.

Obviously, now it's a new thing, so it needs some time to get automatic. I still need to think about the motion a little bit, but it's normal, and if you served one way for months and then you're serving the other way only for two weeks, you need to still be patient, but I think it's a positive technical change. I've been hearing about the elbow being more bent from many coaches even before, but now I feel like time is passing, and it would be good to find a movement that actually gives me that."

Swiatek at Stuttgart

Iga Swiatek at the 2025 Stuttgart Open. | IMAGO / Paul Zimmer

Swiatek's first match of the Stuttgart Open will be against Laura Siegemund in the Round of 16. Swiatek is 2-0 against Siegemund, with one win on clay (Madrid 2021) and another win on hard court (Warsaw 2023).

The Stuttgart Open runs through April 19. The indoor, clay court tournament is a WTA 500 event. Swiatek lost to the eventual champion, Jelena Ostapenko, at the tournament last year. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.