Iga Swiatek reveals the key shot that she is trying to utilise like Carlos Alcaraz
Iga Swiatek’s clay-court season got off to the best possible start via a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Jana Fett at the WTA 500 event in Stuttgart.
The Pole has suffered multiple tough losses throughout 2025 and hasn’t reached a final at any event since Roland Garros last season.
Despite the title drought, Swiatek looked in fine form against the Croat and is seeking to continuously fine-tune her weaponry against her opponents.
“Yeah, that’s the idea, but it’s not like something new,” stated the five-time Grand Slam champion, after being asked if she is purposefully hitting more drop shots.
“I always wanted to do that, but for sure the technique isn’t perfect yet.
“If I haven’t been doing that since I’m a kid, like Carlos, for example, then it’s a bit harder to force it, you know, later on. So, yeah, I want to try because this is the only way to improve that and to learn how to do that.”
Whilst Swiatek also performs well on hard courts, she particularly excels on clay courts.
She has played 101 matches on the surface and won 91 of those occasions – including four Roland Garros titles.
“Well, it’s still a challenge because it’s not like I come to play and everything is perfect suddenly,” admitted Swiatek, when asked about the surface transition.
“We play on a hard court most of the year, so coming to clay court I still need some time to adjust to.
“But for sure I feel like I’m in the right place. With a good amount of work and focus, quickly I’m going to be able to start playing my game.
“Yeah, but obviously, like, every year is different because for most of years I didn’t have much time to do the transition. This year I was able to do it a little bit calmer and I’m happy that, yeah, I had a chance to do that. I’m happy to be here.”
She continued: “You need a lot of inner energy and a lot of motivation to get out every week and play as good as you can. It’s not only about technique and tennis. It’s about mentality and the feelings you have inside.”
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Swiatek lost in semi-finals of Dubai and Indian Wells to Mirra Andreeva and suffered a straight-sets loss to Alex Eala in the last eight of the Miami Open.
“I don’t want to think about it [slow start to 2025] too much,” stated the former world No 1 after her loss in Miami.
“It’s good to learn from defeats, but yes, there are other things ahead, and I’m happy we’re going to be playing on clay now. I don’t know what it will be like this year, but I’m definitely going to work hard to be ready for the first tournaments.
“I wasn’t playing my best game, and I felt like my forehand collapsed a little bit. So it wasn’t comfortable.”
