ga Swiatek has expressed her hope to emulate Rafael Nadal’s prowess on all surfaces as she shed light on how she is working to evolve her game.
The Polish great, who has named Nadal as her idol, has previously revealed how the Spanish icon has shaped aspects of her technique and her mentality.
“It’s good to look at his forehand as an example, how he’s using this spin to make a difference,” Swiatek said in 2024. “Also his backhand is pretty flat. I think we have many similarities in that case.
“Overall, I’m his fan more because of how he behaves. This is something that I try to look up to more.”
Nadal won an astonishing 14 French Open titles — an all-time tennis record at a single Grand Slam event. The 38-year-old, who retired in November last year, secured 22 majors in total.
Swiatek has also enjoyed a rare level of dominance at Roland Garros, having collected four of her five Grand Slam crowns at the clay-court major.
The 23-year-old has won four of the last five editions of the clay-court major — a run that started with her maiden Grand Slam victory at the 2020 French Open.
In an interview with The Athletic, Swiatek argued that Nadal is the greatest player of all time on every surface as she made a comparison between her game and the Mallorcan’s.
“It’s just physics,” Swiatek said. “On clay, it’s going to be a bit easier because my topspin will jump higher and my movements will be maybe better than what other girls can bring with the sliding and changing direction. But on hard courts, I feel like I’m a good player as well.
“It was the same with Rafa. Everybody always talked about clay, but like he’s the GOAT (greatest of all time) basically on every surface.
“Also winning Wimbledon twice. Not every player can have these results on even one surface.
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“This is something that people are focusing on, and I am talking about this as well, because clay is where I have the most fun, but I love hard courts as well.
