Iga Swiatek has stepped up her preparations for the clay-court swing by training at the Rafael Nadal Academy.
Swiatek has been very busy between the hard-court and clay-court swings, having ended the former in disappointing fashion.
The Pole lost her opening match at the Miami Open, immediately after which Swiatek split with Wim Fissette, her coach since October 2024.
And the WTA icon has been quick to replace the Belgian, with Swiatek confirming Francisco Roig has joined her team during her time at the Rafa Nadal Academy.
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Rafael Nadal welcomes Iga Swiatek to his academy
Swiatek was welcomed with open arms by Nadal, who shared a photo of the pair on his Instagram with the message: “[Iga Swiatek] welcome back to the Rafa Nadal Academy!
“Enjoy your time here! We hope you feel at home.”
She shared that post on her Instagram story, writing: “Thanks for having us [Rafael Nadal]. So nice to be back!”
That post arrived just after she confirmed Roig had joined her coaching team.
Sharing an image of herself and Roig on her Instagram story, she wrote: “Welcome to the team, Francisco!
“Very excited for this new chapter.”
He does, of course, have very strong ties to Nadal, having been a part of all 22 of his Grand Slam titles.
The compatriots worked together from 2005 to 2022, with Roig most recently coaching Emma Raducanu.
But after just six months together, Raducanu parted ways with Roig after this year’s Australian Open.
Alexandra Eala trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy ahead of Linz
Swiatek is a six-time Grand Slam champion, with four of those titles having arrived on the clay courts of the French Open.
It’s clearly her strongest surface at that level, as was the case with Nadal, who claimed 14 titles at Roland Garros, more than any other player.
It is very possible then that Swiatek will enjoy further success at the Paris tournament, although whether that arrives as soon as this year remains to be seen.
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 2020 | French Open | Clay | Sofia Kenin | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 2022 | French Open | Clay | Coco Gauff | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Win | 2022 | US Open | Hard | Ons Jabeur | 6–2, 7–6(7–5) |
| Win | 2023 | French Open | Clay | Karolina Muchova | 6–2, 5–7, 6–4 |
| Win | 2024 | French Open | Clay | Jasmine Paolini | 6–2, 6–1 |
| Win | 2025 | Wimbledon | Grass | Amanda Anisimova | 6-0, 6-0 |
Intriguingly, she hasn’t been the only WTA ace to have spent time at the Rafa Nadal Academy recently.
Rising star Alexandra Eala has been training hard at the facility ahead of her first clay tournament of the season.
Eala is a Rafa Nadal Academy graduate, and begins her clay-court swing at the Linz Open in Austria later this month.
Meanwhile, Swiatek is confirmed for Stuttgart, alongside the likes of Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff.
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