Iga Swiatek has ‘the potential to be kind of like [Rafael] Nadal’
Iga Swiatek has been told to take a leaf out of Rafael Nadal’s book with tennis legend Martina Navratilova saying “her so-called weaknesses can become strengths”.
Aged 22, Swiatek is already a four-time Grand Slam winner having won three French Open titles and the 2022 US Open trophy.
The Pole has a brilliant all-round game, but she will be the first to admit that there is always room for improvement and Navratilova has highlighted one area that she needs to brush up on if she wants to become a dominant force.
The former world No 1 feels Swiatek’s net game needs work as she drew parallels with 22-time Grand Slam winner Nadal.
“How good will she be if she starts going forward? Ridiculous,” the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion told the official WTA website.
“I think she’s got the potential to be kind of like [Rafael] Nadal. She’s got those soft hands – she just doesn’t seem confident to use them. When Nadal came up, he was allergic to the net, didn’t have a slice. And then he developed all of that.
“I think she has such a curious mind and she’ll want to improve that. Hard to believe, but she’s got a lot of places she can get better. Her so-called weaknesses can become strengths. Not backing away from the net, she can be even more dominant.”
Reigning world No 1 Swiatek has kicked off her 2024 season in impressive fashion as she was 5-0 in singles at the United Cup with those results adding to her status as one of the favourites to win the Australian Open.
Navratilova, though, doesn’t believe Swiatek is the out-right favourite as she tipped world No 3 Elena Rybakina for the title, however she does feel the Pole will be there or thereabouts.
READ MORE: Tennis great Martina Navratilova picks her Australian Open favourite and it is not Iga Swiatek
Swiatek, whose best performance at Melbourne Park was a run to the semi-final in 2022, will kick off her campaign against Sofia Kenin on Monday.
Kenin has struggled over the past two years following her 2020 Australian Open title success, but she has made her way back up the rankings as she sits at No 38.
“I know she’s been playing some solid tennis,” Swiatek said. “She was playing in Abu Dhabi. It’s not going to be easy. I’ll just get prepared the same way as usual.
“We’re going to talk about the tactics. We haven’t played in a while, so I have to see how she’s playing right now. That’s all.”
