2025 has been a difficult year for Iga Swiatek so far, but that would be about to change.
The season has now shifted to clay, which is unquestionably the Pole’s favourite and strongest surface.
In 2024 she won the successive titles in Madrid, Rome and the French Open, further establishing her dominance on the dirt.
A year later, Iga Swiatek plans to do the same, starting with the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in the German city of Stuttgart.
Iga Swiatek opens up on her training sessions ahead of the clay court season
Swiatek is currently preparing to compete at the Stuttgart Open, her first clay court tournament of the season.
Despite the 23-year-old’s dominance on the surface in 2024, the WTA 500 event was one clay court event that she did not win last season. Elena Rybakina defeated Swiatek, which was her first loss in Stuttgart.
The World number two plans to change that this season and she arrived in Germany earlier than her previous years to prepare, and she is pleased with how things are going so far.
“I love this place – it’s super exciting to be here,” Swiatek told reporters. “I came here a little bit earlier this year and then I practiced every day pretty long.
“I’ve had time to do some technical adjustments – and it’s helped me a lot. We play on hard courts most of the year, so coming to clay means I still need some time to adjust.
“But I feel like I’m in the right place and it has been looking pretty good on the practice court, so I want to implement it in matches.”
Iga Swiatek aims to match Maria Sharapova record in Stuttgart
Swiatek is aiming to make history at the Stuttgart Open should she regain the title.
The five-time Grand Slam champion has yet to win a championship this season and if she succeeds in Germany, she will become a three-time Stuttgart Open champion.
This would mean Swiatek will become just the second player to win the event three times, after Maria Sharapova.
The Russian claimed the title on three successive occasions from 2012 to 2014, beating Victoria Azarenka, Li Na and Sara Errani respectively.
But following Swiatek’s defeat in 2024, Sharapova will remain the only player to win the Stuttgart Open three years in a row.
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