Andy Roddick says Iga Swiatek is doing something ‘insane’ which makes him feel sick

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Andy Roddick was left in awe by how Iga Swiatek has improved one specific shot in her game.

The 21-year-old enjoyed her most dominant clay court season to date when she claimed the Madrid, Rome and French Open titles.

She is the first woman to achieve this feat since Serena Williams claimed all three championships in 2013.

Saturday’s Roland Garros victory was Swiatek’s fourth in five years and the World number one is showing no signs of slowing down.

Andy Roddick marvels at how Iga Swiatek has improved her tennis

Swiatek has dominated women’s tennis since she became the World number one in 2022 following the shock retirement of Ash Barty. One of the reasons for the Pole’s sustained brilliance is her ability to keep finding ways to improve her game.

It has already been documented how she improved her serve during the 2024 clay court season in comparison to her 2023 French Open title defence.

But Roddick noticed something different and explained how Swiatek’s improved backhand has helped her to maintain her dominance in the women’s game. “She is shrinking the court even more by virtue of her backhand getting better,” the American said on his ‘Served Podcast’.

“And when she moves, I don’t think she would win a sprinting contest against everyone on tour, but she is sliding and hitting and at the end of the slide she is already a foot back towards the centre.

“It is all done in one fluid mention which makes me want to vomit with jealously. It’s just this one insane thing. I’m not dealing from a place of being hyperbolic. I think she has some of the best footwork from the middle of the court I have ever seen.”

Where was Iga Swiatek due to play next?

Swiatek was due to commence her grass court season at the ecotrans Ladies Open in Berlin, Germany.

But following a physically and mentally exhausting clay court campaign, she has now withdrawn from the WTA 500 event that commences on June 17.

“Due to overall physical and mental fatigue after an intense 9 weeks, unfortunately I do need to withdraw from the tournament in Berlin in order to rest and recover,” Swiatek’s statement read.

The five-time Grand Slam champion is now not scheduled to play again until Wimbledon, where she has yet to produce her best tennis.

She has reached as far as the quarter-finals and in 2022 her 37-match winning run was ended at SW19 by Alize Cornet, who retired from tennis after losing to Qinwen Zheng at Roland Garros.