Iga Swiatek has turned to tennis legend Rafael Nadal to help her improve this season, with a clip of the pair on the court frightening her WTA rivals.
A clip of the two clay-court weapons at the Rafael Nadal Academy was posted on Instagram this week, with the Spanish star assisting Swiatek during training.
Nadal was not only standing at the back of the court as Swiatek practiced, with the women’s world No.4 hiring his former coach Francisco Roig to join her team.
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Roig worked with Nadal for just over 17 years before moving to work with British sensation Emma Raducanu. The pair’s partnership only lasted six months.
Still a prominent figure in the tennis world, Roig is looking to get Swiatek back on track.
If their union was not enough to frighten those on the WTA tour, a session with the king of the clay just over a month away from the French Open will do it.
“I saw the clip of them on the clay and I was like ugh, this is bad for everybody … this should be illegal,” world No.5 Jessica Pegula said on The Player’s Box podcast.
“I know, I was like oh god – the last thing we needed was to have Iga on the clay with Rafa,” fellow US star Madison Keys, a co-host on the podcast, added.
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Swiatek has made it clear in the past that Nadal, a 22-time grand slam champion, has been her idol since she was a child, like many others on the professional circuit.
The chance to train with a great of the game is something that Keys and Pegula admitted would be amazing to experience, although their nerves would be high.
Rafael Nadal speaks with Iga Swiatek during a training session. Rafa Nadal Academy / Instagram
Desirae Krawczyk, a fellow US tennis star and co-host on the podcast, could not help but play out the scenarios in her head.
“I would be so nervous hitting in front of him,” she said.
“I would be so excited but I would just be thinking, ‘oh my god, I can’t miss’.”
“Within five seconds with me on clay he would be like ‘why are you so close to the baseline?'” Keys added, laughing.
Swiatek will be at the French Open in May where she will look to go one step further than last season, having being eliminated in the semi-finals by Aryna Sabalenka.