Andrea Petkovic says what she thought when watching Iga Swiatek play recently which has never happened before

Follow us on Google Discover

Andrea Petkovic urges Iga Swiatek to incorporate another shot into her game.

The World number two has made a winning start at the Dubai Tennis Championships after beating Victoria Azarenka for the loss of just two games.

This came after Swiatek’s defeat to Jelena Ostapenko in the Qatar Open semi-finals, which was her fifth successive defeat to the Latvian.

In fact, Iga Swiatek has never beaten Ostapenko, and the 23-year-old has to change something if she is to start turning the head-to-head rivalry in her favour.

Andrea Petkovic shares her thoughts on Iga Swiatek’s game recently

Under new coach Wim Fissette, Swiatek is looking to modify her game and become more of a threat on faster courts as well as continuing her dominance on clay.

The Pole is using her excellent footwork to become more aggressive on hard courts and so far it has been effective.

She has reached at least the semi-finals of each tournament she played so far this season, excluding the ongoing Dubai Open. But her last defeat was a 3-6, 1-6 loss to Ostapenko, who played scintillating tennis.

After watching that match in particular, former top 10 player Andrea Petkovic thinks Swiatek needs to incorporate a slice backhand against Ostapenko and other players with the 2017 French Open champion’s style.

“This is the first time. I have never thought about Iga’s game that she needs to add a slice,” she said. “That was the first time I thought ‘she is missing a slice’.

“If Iga had a slice, even if she doesn’t feel comfortable with putting it up high, maybe with a slice she could gain some time.

“You either have to overpower her like Amanda did, because she [Ostapenko] hates other big hitters, she always loses to Osaka as well. So you have to overwhelm her with pace or if you can’t do that then you have to junk her.”

Iga Swiatek is searching for her first title of 2025

Swiatek has been very consistent throughout 2025 so far, but she has yet to lift a championship title.

Swiatek guided Poland to the United Cup final, before losing a thriller against Madison Keys in the Australian Open semi-finals.

Swiatek made the last four in Qatar, but her quest for a fourth successive title was ended by Ostapenko, who lost to Amanda Anisimova in the final.

The five-time Grand Slam champion is now into the quarter-finals in Qatar after overcoming Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska.