Iga Swiatek has made ‘technical stuff’ her priority during the North American hard-court swing as she continues working with new coach Francisco Roig amid rankings drop.
The Pole has endured a disappointing 2026 season so far, reaching just one semi-final in the 10 singles events she has contested.
Most recently, Swiatek suffered a 7-6(11), 6-2 defeat to Alex Eala in the third round of Wimbledon, where she was the defending champion.
At her beloved French Open, a tournament she has won four times, the former world No 1 was outclassed 7-5, 6-1 by Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
As a result of those disappointing performances, Swiatek currently sits eighth in the WTA Live Rankings – her lowest position in more than a year.
The Pole is just 80 points ahead of world No 9 Elina Svitolina and 183 points clear of world No 10 Amanda Anisimova, leaving her place in the world’s top 10 under serious threat.
After a difficult opening three months of the season, Swiatek opted to part ways with long-time coach Wim Fissette after 18 months together.
The decision was viewed as a bold, yet perhaps necessary, move to inject fresh energy into her team, with Francisco Roig appointed as his successor.
Roig spent nearly 20 years working alongside Rafael Nadal, helping the Spaniard win all 22 of his Grand Slam singles titles.
After just a few months together, the pair will begin their first hard-court tournament as a team at the WTA 1000 event in Toronto, which runs from August 2 – August 13.
Latest Tennis News
“Well, you know, obviously I had quite some time to get used to the hard courts, so it’s not so rushed as it was last year, so I already feel like I had a nice two-week period of practice on hard courts,” Swiatek said during the draw ceremony at the Canadian event.
“The priority is basically just developing my game, because I started working with my new coach before the clay-court season, and preparing for Roland Garros and then Wimbledon, it’s not like we had such a long time of practice.
“Now, it was the longest, I would say, so it was nice to use that time with him and my goal is to just implement all that stuff that he wants me to use, because – before clay and before grass – my goal was to just adapt to the surfaces and – on hard courts – I feel like I can focus more on the technical stuff that Francisco wanted me to change, and that’s going to be my main focus for the next weeks.”
Swiatek will begin her campaign against either Wang Xinyu or Sara Bejlek before a likely third-round clash with Donna Vekic.
Tenth seed Marta Kostyuk, who defeated the Pole at the French Open earlier this year, could await in the fourth round should she overcome 19th seed Madison Keys.
Swiatek is projected to face Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals before a potential semi-final meeting with either Aryna Sabalenka or Amanda Anisimova.
The former champion has enjoyed mixed fortunes in her four previous appearances at the Canadian event, with her best result being a run to the semi-finals in 2023.
