Andy Roddick reveals what he’d ‘like to see’ Iga Swiatek do in grass-court matches
Andy Roddick has suggested Iga Swiatek should “take more balls on her backhand” ahead of her 2025 grass-court debut.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek will play her first grass-court match of the season at the Bad Homburg Open, a WTA 500 event in Germany.
The Pole will face qualifier and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in the second round, having received a round-one bye.
Swiatek was a semi-finalist at the tournament two years ago, before withdrawing due to illness.
However, grass is widely perceived as the weakest surface of her career to date.
Swiatek has never reached a WTA final on grass and has never made it past the quarter-final of Wimbledon, reaching that stage just once, back in 2023.
She also approaches the 2025 grass-court season following a notable dip in results, having not won a title or reached a final on the WTA Tour since the 2024 French Open last June.
The 24-year-old has fallen to world No 8 in the WTA Rankings and will be the eighth seed at Wimbledon next week, her lowest Grand Slam seeding since the 2021 French Open.
Swiatek’s grass-court fortunes were discussed by former pros Coco Vandeweghe and Roddick on the Tennis Channel Live Podcast.
And, speaking about the Pole’s chances, former ATP world No 1 Roddick proposed a key tactical shift that Swiatek could make.
“Specifically to Iga on grass, I’d like to see her take more balls in the backhand side and not try to do that little circle to hit the inside-out forehand as much,” said Roddick, a three-time Wimbledon finalist.
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“What makes her a superhero other as far as RPMs and getting the ball up and away and pulling people off the court becomes a bit of a liability, especially if she has to run to hit it.
“I would tell her, if I’m her coach: ‘The simplest adjustment we can make is let’s take a lot more backhands.’
“If you’re just left of centre or even if you’re in the middle of the court, the ball on our backhand will be way more effective on the grass getting through the court. I think she has to mix up her second serve.
“She doesn’t like to up the wrist profile on it, but I think she has to run them into the bodies a little bit more.”
Swiatek will face Azarenka, a former world No 1, on Tuesday or Wednesday after the qualifier beat Laura Siegemund in her opening-round match on Monday.
The Pole is the fourth seed at the WTA 500 event, behind top seed and world No 3 Jessica Pegula, second seed Jasmine Paolini, and third seed Mirra Andreeva.
Should Swiatek win her second-round clash, she would be projected to face eighth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last eight, before a potential semi-final versus Paolini.
