Iga Swiatek’s strength and conditioning coach Maciej Ryszczuk reveals the Polish tennis superstar likes to argue with her team in a playful way and also admits there were certain fears going into this year’s French Open considering how much tennis the 23-year-old had already played on clay.
After suffering a semifinal loss in her clay season opener in Stuttgart, Swiatek went on to clinch back-to-back titles at WTA 1000 tournaments in Madrid and Rome. But since Madrid and Rome switched to a two-week format, Swiatek was basically in constant action for around 25 days and she played 12 matches across Madrid and Rome.
While there were no any questions about Swiatek’s form leading up to the French Open, some wondered if playing so much tennis would leave any mental or physical toll on the Pole. But at the French Open, Swiatek ticked every box successfully and ended up claiming her fifth Grand Slam title after destroying Jasmine Paolini 6-2 6-1 in the final.
“To be honest, this year, we didn’t know how she was going to react. She played a lot of tournaments in a row, so I wasn’t so sure. All my data said it should be fine. We were thinking that if she could handle it mentally… Because it’s the same routine for ten weeks: it’s a lot, and it can get…
