Iga Swiatek replaced Wim Fissette with Francisco Roig ahead of the clay-court season.
The Pole has enlisted the help of Rafael Nadal’s former coach.
Since making the change, Swiatek has trained with Roig and Nadal in Manacor.
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Her former coach, Michal Kaznowski, has now delivered his verdict on the move, sharing what he was ‘secretly hoping’ would happen when Roig joined the team.
Michal Kaznowski was ‘secretly hoping’ that Francisco Roig would bring Iga Swiatek closer to Rafael Nadal
During an interview with ‘Sport.Pl‘, Kaznowski said the following.
“It’s clear they’ve already started working,” he said.
“I was secretly hoping it would bring Iga [Swiatek] closer to Rafael Nadal, and it turned out he decided to get involved in some way.
“Looking back, when I knew Iga as a teenager, Nadal always appeared in our training sessions as an authority and inspiration, especially his fighting spirit and style of play.
“I think it’s a childhood dream come true for her, even one she never expressed.”
Kaznowski is confident that Swiatek has made the right decision.
“The opportunity to draw energy from Nadal’s team and work with him is something you can only root for,” he said.
“Without a doubt.
“A team like Rafael Nadal’s can offer a tennis player absolutely everything, as long as she’s willing to embrace it with an open mind.
“It was evident in Mallorca that the Polish player was accompanied in training not only by Roig and Nadal, but also by other ‘Rafa’ associates.”
It’s easy to draw parallels between Swiatek and Nadal.
Nadal was, by far, the best clay-court player of his generation (and all time).
And the same can be said about Swiatek.
She may not be on the same level as Nadal, but nobody is!
Still, she is a four-time French Open champion and has won more titles in Paris than any other active player.
French Open winners (active)
| Rank | Name | ATP/WTA | Titles | Years won |
| 1 | Iga Swiatek | WTA | 4 | 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
| 2 | Novak Djokovic | ATP | 3 | 2016, 2021, 2023 |
| 3 | Carlos Alcaraz | ATP | 2 | 2024, 2025 |
| T-4 | Coco Gauff | WTA | 1 | 2025 |
| T-4 | Barbora Krejcikova | WTA | 1 | 2021 |
| T-4 | Jelena Ostapenko | WTA | 1 | 2017 |
| T-4 | Stan Wawrinka | ATP | 1 | 2015 |
After a disappointing 2025 French Open, where she lost in the semi-finals to her rival Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek will be keen to return to winning ways this time around.
And with Roig and potentially Nadal in her corner, you wouldn’t bet against her doing just that.
Iga Swiatek’s coaching timeline
Michal Kaznowski (Junior coach)
Kaznowski was Swiatek’s primary coach throughout her junior career.
He helped develop Swiatek’s game, building strong foundations for future coaches to build on.
Kaznowski and Swiatek split in 2016.
Piotr Sierzputowski (2016-2021)
Swiatek replaced Kaznowski with Sierzputowski, and the decision proved fruitful.
With Sierzputowski in her corner, Swiatek won her first Grand Slam at the 2020 French Open.
That was the only Grand Slam they would win together, however, as Swiatek hired a new coach in 2021.
Tomasz Wiktorowski (2021-2024)
The Pole enjoyed the majority of her WTA Tour and Grand Slam success with Tomasz Wiktorowski.
Together, they won four major titles and spent 125 weeks atop the world rankings.
- 2022 French Open
- 2022 US Open
- 2023 French Open
- 2024 French Open
But at the end of the 2024 season, Swiatek chose to replace Wiktorowski.
Wim Fissette (2024-2026)
Swiatek hired the experienced coach, Wim Fissette, ahead of the 2024 WTA Finals.
They didn’t get off to the strongest of starts together, and fans questioned whether she should fire the Belgian after a disappointing clay-court campaign.
Bouncing back, Swiatek won her sixth major title at Wimbledon shortly after.
The good times didn’t last forever, though, and Fissette left the team after a disappointing first few months of the 2026 season.
Francisco Roig (2026-)
Swiatek hired Nadal’s former coach, Roig, as Fissette’s replacement.
The Pole has won at least one Grand Slam with her three previous coaches.
Will Roig continue that trend?
Only time will tell…
