By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Iga Swiatek is the best player in women’s tennis.
Her win at Roland Garros was her fourth in Paris and her fifth career major title and further cementing her status as the dominant No. 1 player on the WTA Tour.
Lynne Rolley, Chairman of the Board of Professional Tennis Registry and former Director of Women’s Coaching for the U.S. Tennis Association, says that part of what makes Swiatek so tough to beat is the incredible placement of her hard-hitting penetrating groundstrokes that is set up with impeccable footwork.
“She does not hit two balls to the same place,” said Rolley. “She moves the ball incredibly well, and her footwork is so specific, and she’s so lined up to hit every ball that she dictates the point to fix that.”
“She has incredible footwork, she gets to the ball so early,” Rolley continued. “She has the opportunity to choose where she’s going to put it. But you don’t see her hitting two balls to the same place. She moves the ball all over the court, and makes the court enormous for the opponent to cover.”
So what can amateur or competitive players – and their tennis instructors – learn from Swiatek’s game? As far as ball placement goes, Rolley says certainly try to limit hitting balls to the same place over and over.
“Practice moving the ball to different areas of the court with different spins,” said Rolley, who has worked with such players as Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati and Chanda Rubin in her career. “It’s a great drill in that players will limit hitting the same shot over and over again, their favorite shot. Whereas to make the court actually really big and make an opponent do different things and prepare in different ways. You move the ball all over the court and at different heights with different heights and different locations. Height, spin, and location.”
As for footwork, a good basic apparatus for footwork drills is a rope ladder where “you’re working with quick balance steps,” Rolley said. Also jumping rope is a good basic way to improve footwork. “If you jump rope, you’re trying to improve your balance and movement,” she said. Sprints and plyometrics will also help, she said.
Great footwork allows players to more effectively dictate shots, like Swiatek does so imperiously. “You have to have time to really set up and hit the shot and have control of the ball rather than just reacting, just barely getting there,” said Rolley. “And you don’t have choices (where to hit your shot) when you’re just barely reaching the ball. You have to get there early so you can dictate the shot.”
