Iga ¦wiątek terrifies her rivals. Neither of them can do that

These pictures from Monday’s match against Belinda Bencic in the United Cup team tournament attracted many people’s attention. After one of Iga Świątek’s powerful hits, the operator zoomed in on Hubert Hurkacz and showed some statistics regarding the topspin forehand – i.e. the one where the ball is given top spin (promotion), which accelerates and changes the flight path. It turned out that the average speed of such a play by the leader of the WTA ranking was 5 km/h higher in the previous season than by the world’s 10th tennis player. And while it is not based on topspin, other data that was given on this occasion were more telling. Well, the 21-year-old Polish woman can be afraid of not only her rivals, but also many top players. Her 122 km/h result is only 1 km/h worse than the average speed of tennis players from the Top 50 ATP list.

Average speed is the key. Hurkacz would gladly take over the forehand from Świątek

– Considering that we haven’t seen Serena Williams serve for 10 months, I believe that Iga’s forehand is the most feared shot in women’s tennis – pointed out just over six months ago Pam Shriver, winner of 21 Grand Slam titles in doubles and Tennis Channel expert and ESPN. The service of the 41-year-old American last time the fear of opponents in a match for the stake was in September last year. After dropping out of the US Open, the legendary Williams ended a successful career. And Świątek’s dangerous weapon is doing well, actually getting better.

The fact that the Polish woman has a powerful forehand has been known not since yesterday. Already three years ago, when she was just entering the world of professional tennis, everyone could see that she was making good use of her strength on this shot. At the time, however, it was described as atomic but unstable.

– I think that the average speed of Iga’s ball is not yet at the level of Serena Williams, but single hits can actually come close to this level. But over the course of a match, what matters is the average speed you play at. A two-set match is about 120 points, and a three-set match – even 200 points – said the current coach Świątek, who then watched her from the side as a television expert. – The more regular Iga will be in the game with high speed, the more often she will hit 80-90 percent of her power, the better, because it will be too fast for most girls – he analyzed.

And the young tennis player gradually improved in this aspect. During the 2020 French Open, in which she unexpectedly triumphed, the average speed of her forehand was 118 km / h. Sometimes she managed to reach 127 km/h – in that tournament no competitor recorded a better result, and among men it was only Italian Jannik Sinner. In the spring of last year, in one of the matches, the Polish woman averaged 128 km/h. On this occasion, it was reported that the average in the men’s ATP competition from the entire 2021 season was 5 km / h lower.

During a recent joint interview recorded on the occasion of the United Cup, Hurkacz and Świątek were asked what they would like to take from the other person’s game if they had the opportunity. The inhabitant of Wrocław has just pointed out, among others, powerful forehand of a friend from the court. And he is certainly not alone in this respect among tennis players. And the progress of the 21-year-old noticed during the previous season, among others. Brad Gilbert.

– I think that her forehand technique could still be improved, but it has already improved significantly. Everything looks better on her. She added even more strength to the forehand. When he’s in the middle of the court and uses this shot, you have to be on rollers to reach the ball – vividly explained the former American tennis player and ESPN television analyst.

A special Christmas gift. “In the past, coaches complained a lot about her technique in the backroom”

What distinguishes Świątek’s forehand is not only great strength, but also strong topspin. The Spaniard Rafael Nadal, admired for a long time by the Polish woman, is considered to be an expert in this field. And does any tennis player play like Świątek?

– I can’t think of any other player who would hit the forehand like that. Of course, there are Spaniards for whom such a game is characteristic, but in their case there is absolutely no such power and speed as Iga gives the ball – Joanna Sakowicz-Kostecka points out in an interview with Sport.pl.

The commentator and expert of Canal + adds that most players at the beginning of their careers play flat, and this is influenced by the conditions of the body structure. – It’s just easier that way too. It’s all about different training habits. It takes more time and effort to develop a relatively similar shot, and some coaches prefer to take shortcuts. If a girl plays hard and flat, she’s impressive and you get an advantage. However, there are technical nuances that need to be refined. However, the example of Iga shows how it pays off later – emphasizes the former tennis player.

At the same time, Sakowicz-Kostecka points out that Świątek has just such a gift, which he uses well. – Just as Agnieszka Radwańska had a phenomenal gift in terms of feeling, anticipation on the court and you just have to be born with it, so Iga has such a natural ability to rotate the ball – she argues. And at the same time, she mentions that when the leader of the world ranking was much younger and there was no mention of playing professionally in her context, the coaches in the backroom pointed out the way she hit the ball at the forehand.

“They were very pissed off at her technique. In fact, it’s not a book. This is not a beautiful forehand we want to teach. Some even used the expression that he is a bit of a hedgehog. But in tennis, we don’t give marks for style, for artistic impressions, but for efficiency. And as you can see, it is currently in the first place in women’s tennis – our interlocutor points out.

It also explains why a powerful topspin forehand causes so much trouble for opponents. After contact with the surface, such a ball bounces very high.

– In order to effectively hit it, you have to either retreat behind the end line – that is, give the field to the opponent, or try to play such a ball at a high point, which is very difficult and very risky. Both variants require very good physical preparation. It requires a lot of effort to be able to play with such intensity throughout the match and, of course, to avoid this forehand as much as possible – adds Sakowicz-Kostecka with a laugh.

Świątek equaled Nadal. “This forehand is already a hell of a deal and she still has reserves”

Already during the aforementioned edition of the tournament on the courts of Roland Garros 2020, the ball on the topspin forehand Swiatek averaged about 3200 per minute. No tennis player could boast of such statistics back then. In one of the exchanges of the final with the American Sofia Kenin, the Polish woman recorded a score of 3,453 revolutions per minute. The WTA website reminded then that similar values ​​are achieved by the ball hit in this way by Nadal. The winner of the record 22 Grand Slam titles in men’s singles is a model for Świątek, but did she also take over the way of performing this move from him?

“I don’t see any significant similarities with Rafael Nadal in terms of the movement as a whole. I think it’s Iga’s natural talent and inclination to play like that – evaluates Sakowicz-Kostecka.

And he agrees with other experts that while the forehand is already bringing a lot of benefits to Świątek, it can be even better.

– Sometimes in moments of stress or when the disposition is not optimal, it happens that it has too little space, that the elbow is too much stuck to the body and the racket is brought out too late. And that’s what’s fascinating – this forehand is already hellishly effective, and she still has reserves – emphasizes the expert.

In her opinion, the improvement may come both with the 21-year-old’s increasing performance and with her better coping with stress.

– Looking from the side, we have much more time to analyze the situation and we do not act in such an emotional state as Iga, who is on the court. When there is a fraction of a second to make a decision, the technical nuances that are the basis of tennis craft are missed. On the other hand, this automaticity of movement developed during training, sparring and matches increases the chances that even in a stressful situation it will all work. This is of course a shortened explanation, but with age comes a certain awareness of movement, experience – adds Sakowicz-Kostecka at the end.

In Wednesday’s United Cup meeting with Martina Trevisan, Świątek sent a forehand at a speed of 140 km/h in one of the actions. Fans who couldn’t get up for this morning’s match, don’t worry – there should be more opportunities to admire the great weapon of the Polish woman.