Iga Swiatek’s ‘room for improvement’ highlighted by former world No 2

Oli Dickson Jefford 09 Nov 2024 1:44 PM

Iga Swiatek and Conchita Martinez.

Iga Swiatek has “room for improvement” with her forehand on faster surfaces, believes former Wimbledon champion and world No 2 Conchita Martinez.

Five-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek is one of the most decorated players of the past decade, having won four French Open titles and a US Open title, alongside 125 weeks as the world No 1.

However, after a dominant start to 2024, the 23-year-old has failed to win a title since prevailing at Roland Garros for a third straight season.

Among notable losses for Swiatek were a round three defeat at Wimbledon and a quarter-final exit at the US Open, while failing to make the second week of the Australian Open in January.

The Pole has sometimes struggled to find her best tennis on faster courts, and this is one area that Martinez believes the current world No 2 can improve.

Speaking ahead of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga, Martinez – a former coach of Garbine Muguruza, and current coach of Mirra Andreeva – believed this would be a focus for Swiatek.

“Well, she’s been the best player in the world for quite some time – I like Iga’s game a lot. She’s got a lot of good things,” said Martinez.

“But you can only progress, and you can get a little bit better in different areas for sure. I know she wants to work on her serve, to be a little bit better.

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“I would work a lot with the powerful shots she has from the baseline. I would work with more transitions into the net, because she could do that a little bit more.

“I mean, she’s better on slower surfaces, so I would focus a lot on playing aggressive on faster surfaces.

“She moves great, she’s one of the great movers. She covers a lot of the court, but I think with the forehand she can do a lot more.

“I consider myself a specialist in teaching forehand and going a little more into the net, and in faster surfaces. When she has time, she’s good, but when she has less time, there’s room for improvement.”

Swiatek was in action at the WTA Finals this week, where she failed to progress from her group despite two wins across her three matches.

The WTA Finals was her first event since the US Open, though it will not be the final time she takes to court in 2024.

The Pole announced last month that she would represent Poland at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga, where Martinez is the tournament director.

And the Spaniard believes Swiatek will be close to her best at the tournament, which starts next week.

She said: “I think by then she’s going to have enough time to be fully prepared. I think she was a little bit up and down in the WTA Finals, but she had two good matches.

“I think with a little bit more training, practice, the matches she played at the WTA Finals, I think it’s enough time to be prepared.

“We all know how Iga can play, she’s very professional and she’s going to do everything possible to be at her best for sure.”