Iga Swiatek defeats Daria Snigur in Madrid after Rafael Nadal training block
Fourth seed Iga Swiatek has launched her Madrid Open campaign with a dominant 6-1 6-2 victory over Ukraine’s Daria Snigur, having recently sought advice from 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.
The former world number one recently parted ways with coach Wim Fissette to hire Francisco Roig.
Roig previously spent years working alongside Nadal before undertaking brief stints with players such as Emma Raducanu and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Informal guidance from a tennis great
To prepare for the European clay-court swing, the Polish star spent a dedicated training block at the Spaniard’s academy in Majorca.
While Nadal does not hold an official coaching role within her team, his accessibility provides significant reassurance.
We’re not in constant touch but I know I can always ask him anything if I want so this is really comforting and it also shows how good of a person he is.
Iga Swiatek
It has been an unusually challenging start to the year for the Warsaw native.
She has failed to progress beyond a tournament quarter-final this season, suffering an exit in the last eight at Stuttgart just last week.
Adjusting the service motion
A key focus under her new coaching setup has been an altered service motion.
This technical adjustment yielded immediate positive results against her Ukrainian opponent on the Spanish clay.
Today I felt like this was it and I just need to keep doing that, keep focusing on it and remembering the right movement. A week in Majorca is not enough for the body to remember the movement, but today for sure was a step forward.
Iga Swiatek
Elsewhere in the draw, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka battled past Peyton Stearns 7-5 6-3 in her first match since winning the Miami Open.
Off the court, the top seeds were left surprised by the sudden resignation of WTA chief executive Portia Archer.
We always had a good relationship, I felt like she listened to what we had to say and was really open-minded.
Iga Swiatek
