Iga Swiatek wants to find ways to keep improving her already impressive game.
The Pole has been making deep runs at tournaments this season, but she has yet to lift a championship title.
In fact, Swiatek has gone trophyless on the WTA Tour since she lifted her fourth French Open title in June 2024.
Now the Pole wants to take her game to the next level and get back to winning titles, and there are signs of how she may do that at the ongoing Italian Open.
Which shot is Iga Swiatek trying to play more during matches?
Iga Swiatek has one of the game’s most devastating groundstrokes and she also possesses impressive footwork and an elite mentality.
But the 23-year-old tends to play the vast majority of her game from the baseline and rarely approaches the net.
However, this may be about to change as Swiatek told Sky Sports after the first match of her Italian Open title defence that she wants to start playing more drop shots and become more creative on court.
“Today I felt really good,” said Swiatek after beating Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-1, 6-0. “I focused on some technical stuff I wanted to improve even though it was pretty one-sided, I had some technical stuff to focus on so I just did that and the score did not really matter.
“I played one drop shot, I mean two drop shots, but one drop shot which was good. So I tried some new stuff and for sure it was a great match and a great start of the tournament.” She added: “Honestly, I forgot about it but my coach reminded me from the box so this was helpful.
“I am the kind of player who is in the zone and wants to continue what I have been doing but I also want to become more creative, so he reminded me a little bit and I tried and I am happy that I did.
“I guess it depends on the court and the level of confidence. Also if you feel in your mind that you are going to miss these shots you don’t play often, you are just going to let it go. So today I felt it was a good day for that so I just did it.”
This comes after her coach Wim Fissette has come under fire recently from Rennae Stubbs, who criticised his coaching display during Swiatek’s loss to Coco Gauff in Madrid. The Belgian has yet to guide Swiatek to a title, but they aim to end that drought during the clay-court season.
Iga Swiatek returns to winning ways at the Italian Open
Swiatek had questions to answer following her heavy 1-6, 1-6 defeat to Coco Gauff at the Madrid Open.
Nine days later, Swiatek commenced her title defence at the Italian Open, and it was business as usual as she began the campaign with a comprehensive win.
She defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-1, 6-0 to open up proceedings in Rome and Swiatek is on a mission to win her first title of the season.
“For sure, I’m happy with the consistency,” Swiatek told reporters in Rome. “This is something that I always want. There’s no tournament where I go in and I’m not prepared.
“I feel like I’m the most kind of consistent as I was in previous years. But for sure I want to also win some tournaments — that’s also the goal.”
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