Swiatek on Lessons Learned from Champs in Roland Garros Quest
By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, May 25, 2026
Photo credit: Antoine Couvercelle/ROLEX
Straddling the baseline like starter blocks, Iga Swiatek made a fast start in the first round today.
Four-time champion Swiatek sped past 17-year-old Aussie wild card Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-2 charging into the Roland Garros second round in just one hour.
“I’m really happy with the way I played,” said Swiatek, who improved to 28-1 in Grand Slam opening-round matches. “It was a solid match from the beginning to the end. I technically knew how to play, so I just did it, and it was a good day, for sure.”
The third-seeded Swiatek raised her Roland Garros record to 41-3 playing her first French Open match with new coach Francisco Roig, her hero Rafael Nadal’s former coach, in her box.
Setting her sights on a fifth French Open title—and first clay-court championship since she beat Jasmine Paolini to lift the Coupe de Suzanne Lenglen in 2024—Swiatek will face Czech left-hander Sara Bejlek for a spot in round three.
Swiatek said one of the biggest challenges between winning her maiden Roland Garros crown in 2020 and her efforts to regain Roland Garros six years later, is the constant adaptation required to stay one step ahead of title contenders.
The six-time Grand Slam champion said her style of play hellacious topspin that trampolines off the red clay on the forehand contrasting with her flatter two handed backhand—no longer surprises opponents which puts a premium on progression and skillful execution.
“I mean, for sure players got used to it,” Swiatek said. “I remember it was all a surprise in 2022, you know. “It was quite interesting that next year I felt totally different.
“I think this is what people say when they say it’s harder to stay on the top, because you need to adjust your game so it’s not that simple for people anymore. Yeah, they get used to it, for sure, you know.”
King of Clay Nadal, who participated in some of Swiatek’s training sessions at the Rafa Nadal Academy last month, is Swiatek’s tennis role model. Swiatek said she’s also learned lessons from another former world No. 1 Roland Garros champion, retired Ash Barty, that even when opponent’s know what’s coming, if you’re good enough to impose your game on Paris’ red clay, you can still prevail.
“But on the other hand, I can still make these shots better, so and they still work,” Swiatek said. “It’s, like, you know, when I played against Ash, I knew exactly what she’s gonna play, but she did it so good that I was still losing these points. I knew exactly that she’s gonna slice me to the backhand.
“I’m gonna try to, you know, pick it up with my backhand topspin and she’s gonna finish me with her forehand. But still, like, I played this one not so good, you know, because her slice was amazing. She played her forehand so well, that I still had no chance, you know.
“So I guess even if people know what you’re gonna play if you’re gonna do it good, then you might win, you know”
Swiatek, who celebrates her 25th birthday on Sunday, was be one of the few players happy to pump up the Roland Garros party amid sweltering 88-degree head. Searing heat, forecast for week one, will only enhance the Swiatek high-bounding topspin forehand.
“When we came here, it was like 16 degrees and the ball was super heavy,” Swiatek said. “You literally could put your whole body and whole power into the ball, and you would still feel like you control it.
“Now you need much more, like, touch, and you can’t go too much. Also, like, it’s a bit easier to play higher and with spin. The ball is bouncing off the court faster, so that gives you more advantage, I would say.”
Should seeds hold true to form, Swiatek’s first seeded opponent would be 29th-seeded nemesis Jelena Ostapenko in a potential third-round showdown of former French Open champions.
Regardless of her Roland Garros results this month, Swiatek looks forward to a tearful reunion with Nadal when she watches the Netflix documentary on Rafa.
“Yeah, I’m going to watch it straightaway, unless I play the next day, because I will cry,” Swiatek said.
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