IIn his short time on the WTA Tour, Iga Swiatek has quickly established himself as one of the greatest players of the new generation. Her success, including four titles in the past five years at Roland Garros (the same venue where the Olympic tennis championships will be held), has been driven by her incredible, devastating forehand.
Swiatek constantly looks to control the points with his forehand. The powerful topspin she generates on her shots forces her opponents back behind the baseline, which allows her to create greater angles and provides more security to her shots.
Former British men’s No. 1 and World No. 4 Greg Rusedski cites Swiatek’s Western grip as a key factor in her forehand success: “It’s the extreme grip on it. ,” Ruseski said. “You see the mechanics of the shot, but also the physicality of the legs used and the speed of the arms. It’s a combination of a lot of things that make it so effective. It’s on clay more than any other surface because of the kick and the bounce. Both are more effective. If I were to describe it in terms of the men’s game, it’s like Rafael Nadal’s forehand in the women’s game.
How to imitate Swiatek’s forehand
Although more and more female players are adopting topspin-heavy forehands, Swiatek’s forehand is difficult to directly replicate even at the highest levels of tennis: “Don’t try it at home, this is My description,” Ruseski said with a laugh. . “It takes years of practice, and the technique is very difficult on the shoulders and arms.”
What amateurs can learn from Swiatek’s forehand is the many things she does to prepare for the shot. Hitting the ball with more topspin doesn’t mean you have to settle for hitting a softer ball. Swiatek uses her tremendous racquet head speed to accelerate her shots, and topspin provides more security and leeway in her attack. Amateur players should not feel a tendency to slow down when they try to brush behind the ball and generate more topspin. “What [the topspin] “What it does is it bounces like a mule,” Rusedski said. “So, in other words, you can get the ball down quickly, you can spin it, get it down fast, so it’s all little things. That’s why [the difference]”.
Another key aspect of Swiatek’s forehand dominance is her determination to get the ball early and attack. Getting the ball early saves time with her opponent, allowing her to take advantage of the speed their opponent has already generated and deflect the ball back to the other side of the court. Ruseski said the key to getting the ball early is to start the forehand movement early. “That’s early preparation, getting your knees down,” Ruseski said. “The better you move in our sport, the better you’re going to play. Preparing early helps take action early.
Finally, Swiatek is an incredible athlete and her footwork is one of her greatest strengths. Like Swiatek, amateur players should always take small, consistent steps between shots to create the necessary space between themselves and the ball. Constantly moving can be tiring, and it’s easy to fall into lazy habits, but using your footwork to create space around the ball is one of the keys to being able to consistently repeat the shot.
“I think her footwork is really good,” Ruseski said. “She’s the best mover in the women’s game. She has a great attitude and always wants to get better, so there are a lot of traits you can draw from.
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Three main points
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Practice your footwork, especially small, quick steps around the ball so you always have room to hit the ball comfortably.
