Break Point: Swiatek Sends Coach Roig to Surgery

By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, May 8, 2026
Photo credit: Rafa Nadal Academy

A month into their relationship, Iga Swiatek pushed coach Francisco Roig to the breaking point.

In the aftermath of her 6-1, 6-7, 6-3 win over American Caty McNally in her Rome opener today, Swiatek shared how her pre-tournament practice with her coach caused Roig to rupture his Achilles and undergo surgery on Tuesday.

The pair were playing a half-court volley game as part of an Internazionali BNL d’Italia promotion at the Piazza del Popolo on Tuesday when Swiatek reached match point and Roig hit the breaking point.

Lunging for a volley, Roig, who formerly coached Rafael Nadal, ruptured his Achilles. Perhaps the coach was motivated by the 100 Euro bet the pair made on the outcome of their mini-tennis match.

“He’s really good on the volley. So we made a bet for 100€,” Swiatek told the media in Rome. “I thought I was going to lose honestly because he’s been playing so great the volley.

“I was like maybe let’s play only the singles court. It’s halfcourt basically. Let’s play bubbles. I want to win, I’ll make you move a little bit.

“Yeah, basically I had 5-4 and the match point already. He did a split step and tore his Achilles. It happened on Saturday. On Tuesday he had surgery already in Warsaw.”

Amazingly, Roig rebounded from surgery and is already back in Rome coaching Swiatek despite his Achilles issue.

“We kind of took care of him. Yeah, he really wanted to be back, not to take time off,” Swiatek said. “I
really appreciate that he’s here because for sure it’s not easy for him.

“Yeah, we’re trying to take care of him. We also kind of wanted to show the team effort, you know? Yeah, I broke my coach’s Achilles.”

Former No. 1 Swiatek, who split with former coach Wim Fissette after losing her Miami Open opener, hired Roig last month and spent training time with Roig and Nadal at the Rafa Nadal Academy on Mallorca.