Swiatek...countdown to racquet change

[racquetreligion]

Maybe it could be management want to develop her game away from the Halep like spin
which is a shame as she has way more variety than Halep and bordering on Aggie Rad

Problem is that if it is mental with that twitch and coffee intake it wont help to use just
a powerful TF stick when it comes to confidence and masterful genius like touch.

Watching Meds explode recently vs Agut while trying so many things really showed that
playing with confidence these TF sticks really help otherwise its a quick Kamakaze Sayonara.

Hard to have it all in a racquet to suit each individual, style and surface/balls combinations.
Swiatek 100in 16 x 18 to 98 in 16 x 19 is almost like Nadal moving to a 98in Pure Strike 16 x 20.

 

[2nd Serve Ace]

Nice to see my girl back playing on her best surface. This is a situation where the 98" may work better for a player on clay compared to a 100.

Ashame she draws Barty 3rd rd. Last two FO winners playing each other 3rd rd of Madrid!

Iga has some superb wide heavy serves, but can be inconsistent with them. Its also interesting to me that she seems to do better playing in long sleeves.

 

[2nd Serve Ace]

Good match from Iga against the #1 in the world. Barty just has a bit better grasp on combinations and what she needs to do to finish points early.

Think IS learned a lot from this and R/FO could be great for her as groundies will have more bite.

 

[5.0 in 3.0 Body Guy]

She’s got to get her second serve sorted out. She hit a lot of really short seconds, not to mention the double-faults.

 

[2nd Serve Ace]

She’s got to get her second serve sorted out. She hit a lot of really short seconds, not to mention the double-faults.

Somewhat. Certainly needs to have a 90% first serve that she can place well. That would take pressure off the 2nd.

Edit: honestly I hate her serve approach, she is a good enough player to platform, short toss and hammer the ball into corners. With her movement and groundies, nobody could break her.

 

[2nd Serve Ace]

So many things going right with Iga. The drop shot technique is approaching ideal.

The groundies are all compact and nicely inside out with acceleration around the ball.

The footwork continues to be outstanding.

 

[Dolgopolov85]

So many things going right with Iga. The drop shot technique is approaching ideal.

The groundies are all compact and nicely inside out with acceleration around the ball.

The footwork continues to be outstanding.

Footwork is far from outstanding and has regressed from 2020. In every aspect of the game, she is less composed and organised than 2020. Though she is playing better NOW than a week back. So maybe she will get back on track. Regardless, whatever problems are there in her footwork don't hurt her so much because they are more to do with positioning than movement between shots and she is not VERY tall so gets around quickly.

 

[slipgrip93]

I noticed some of her dropshots in that match were still bouncing too high over net height, so she may need more spin(?) with that shot. But overall glad she eventually found her groove again with the new racquet. Interesting to see what TF is going to roll it out to the public as. Plenty of comments comparing her to Henin in potential, but probably good that she's a few inches taller.

 

[AceyMan]

The drop shot technique is approaching ideal.

She likes to use it in a central rally when she gets a mildly crossing ball to her BH inside a step to her left. She knows that exact distance to the left net post/singles stick and drops it over like a marshmallow that slipped off a dessert tray.

A lovely shot, for sure.

/Acey

 

[slipgrip93]

delete

 

[grnmtgrl]

Her racquet, the "TRebound 298 IGA" is on the technifibre tw page now. I wonder if the nickname that catches on will be something like the '298IGA' or the 'TR IGA' (suprisingly so light listed spec which kind of reminds me of Henin's 10.6 oz KTour in weight class) (Swiatek also does a short interview video with TW on the page, and then a cute plug for the racquet.)

Very curious about this. I really wonder if she plays with these exact specs (298g, 4 pts HL), with no mods. It certainly allows for wicked spin. Now I kinda want to demo this when it comes out, but that's me as a Swiatek fan...

 

[BillKid]

Very curious about this. I really wonder if she plays with these exact specs (298g, 4 pts HL), with no mods. It certainly allows for wicked spin. Now I kinda want to demo this when it comes out, but that's me as a Swiatek fan...

It is very plausible considering that she was playing a Prince Tour 100 290g in stock before switching. There have been some controversy about the layup she is using. Some people doubt that she would be using a 71RA racquet.

 

[grnmtgrl]

It is very plausible considering that she was playing a Prince Tour 100 290g in stock before switching. There have been some controversy about the layup she is using. Some people doubt that she would be using a 71RA racquet.

Exactly. In her TW video "I really like softer racquets", meanwhile it's 71 RA.

 

[puppybutts]

clearly she would have won FO this year if only she stuck with prince

 

[BillKid]

Some people seem to believe that Swiatek lost because 1/ she was under too much pressure, 2/ her opponent played great, 3/ she was suffering a thigh problem.
Of course, the true reason was the racquet. She may have not read even a single post in this thread dedicated to what should have lead her to success! What a waste.

 

[GregN]

I see a paintjob in her future

 

[Ruvi the Kruv]

clearly she would have won FO this year if only she stuck with prince

She chose MONEY and abandoned FAME.

 

[slipgrip93]

It wasn't the racquet, it was the stringjob or the "wrong" strings

But joking aside, maybe not an ideal outcome of the tournament for Technifibre or Babolat for their new racquets and marketing where neither of the brands made it to the singles finals this time.

 

[ST VINCENT FAN]

I don't get pros that take the endorsement over the equipment that help them achieve success?? Tsonga's change from Babolat from Wilson stands out for me. He switched brands and his career was never the same, or just coincidence?!?!

I agree, paint job needs to be considered.

 

[Ruvi the Kruv]

I don't get pros that take the endorsement over the equipment that help them achieve success?? Tsonga's change from Babolat from Wilson stands out for me. He switched brands and his career was never the same, or just coincidence?!?!

I agree, paint job needs to be considered.

Tsonga is a very tragic case. He never was the Muhmmad Ali of tennis that he should have been. If only he sticked to Wilson.

 

[slipgrip93]

She's just making too many UE's , missing regular and on the run shots with the racquet. I feel foolish now thinking the tf racquet wasn't a liability for her. Just now, she got bageled in the 2nd set by katsakina in Eastbourne, too late with her bh on that last shot. Deleting my hyped posts about her switch to tf and the racquet where I wish she had never changed. Or at least go back to her FO 2020 prince racquet, and I don't like the idea of a tf paintjob if using the old prince racquet.

 

[McLovin]

She's just making too many UE's , missing regular and on the run shots with the racquet. I feel foolish now thinking the tf racquet wasn't a liability for her. Just now, she got bageled in the 2nd set by katsakina in Eastbourne, too late with her bh on that last shot. Deleting my hyped posts about her switch to tf and the racquet where I wish she had never changed. Or at least go back to her FO 2020 prince racquet, and I don't like the idea of a tf paintjob if using the old prince racquet.

You’re hilarious. Do you know her main draw record on grass before this week? I’ll tell you: 0-3.

In fact, not only did she fail to win a main draw match on grass, she failed to win a set. With 2 of those sets going the way of her opponents by the score of 6-0.

So, in my opinion, the racquet seems to be helping her on grass. She’s already improved on her lifetime main draw grass record.

NOTE: I say “main draw” as she did win 3 qualifying rounds in one tournament, but her opponents were ranked in the upper 100s, and two of them were tight 3 set matches.

 

[Shaolin]

I don't get pros that take the endorsement over the equipment that help them achieve success?? Tsonga's change from Babolat from Wilson stands out for me. He switched brands and his career was never the same, or just coincidence?!?!

I agree, paint job needs to be considered.

Pouille is another example. Was playing incredible with his Prince. Went to Babolat (presumably Prince couldn't pay much since they're broke) and now his career is in the gutter...cant get a single tour win.

 

[BillKid]

Pouille is another example. Was playing incredible with his Prince. Went to Babolat (presumably Prince couldn't pay much since they're broke) and now his career is in the gutter...cant get a single tour win.

Wasn’t Pouille already injured and in big trouble when he switched?

 

[Shaolin]

Wasn’t Pouille already injured and in big trouble when he switched?

Not sure since I dont follow him that closely but I know his poor results have coincided with the racquet change. He was playing great and beating guys like Nadal with the Prince and now playing like Challenger guy with Babolat.

 

[EasternRocks]

Watch Iga and Pouille both go back eventually.

 

[taylor15]

Watch Iga and Pouille both go back eventually.

I doubt that will happen bc, you know, money and the fear it won’t help.

 

[Shaolin]

Watch Iga and Pouille both go back eventually.

Pouille might. Iga I doubt it.

 

[2nd Serve Ace]

Good work from Iga in 3rd rd of uso. Played a hot player coming in. She has abrevieated her serve toss and motion!

Also, the nervous head tics seem to be gone. She does touch her cap and hair a lot but I guess a fast twitch player needs an outlet and this is better than that awful head tic.

Also, only 0-2 failed dropshots! Hopefully this bad shot choice will become extinct in Iga's game.

Getting back to Iga's serve, she will do well to establish that center T serve as her main weapon. Center serves are so valuable since they get returned up the middle, and you can adjust for it. Controlling the middle of the court is what wins big titles.

 

[fox]

Once she sorts out her serve she will be top5 contender in each slams.

 

[2nd Serve Ace]

Once she sorts out her serve she will be top5 contender in each slams.

Only player to make the 4th round of each major this year. With lots of room for improvement.

 

[Hankenstein]

Not sure since I dont follow him that closely but I know his poor results have coincided with the racquet change. He was playing great and beating guys like Nadal with the Prince and now playing like Challenger guy with Babolat.

He was out for a long time before he made the switch to Babolat. It was during his comeback he started using pure drive

 

[vsbabolat]

Not sure since I dont follow him that closely but I know his poor results have coincided with the racquet change. He was playing great and beating guys like Nadal with the Prince and now playing like Challenger guy with Babolat.

Pouille had surgery on his elbow and then when he came back decided to use the Pure Drive. His results haven’t been good.

 

[hank_m]

Pouille had surgery on his elbow and then when he came back decided to use the Pure Drive. His results haven’t been good.

is it a true pure drive or just PJ？

 

[Nostradamus]

is it a true pure drive or just PJ？

Swaitek suck after switching to technifiber. when will she go back to Prince ?

 

[Curtennis]

Swaitek suck after switching to technifiber. when will she go back to Prince ?

You gotta imagine it’s gotten to her head big time. I bet she’s like one of us racquetholics switching back and forth in practice trying to convince herself which she’s better with.

 

[vsbabolat]

is it a true pure drive or just PJ？

He’s really using a Pure Drive. I don’t know which generation he’s using

 

[fox]

Ohh if you look at it this way I guess there are not many racquets left. If you eliminate racquet when its user loses then you have none

 

[netlets]

This is nonsense in my opinion. They developed a racquet for Iga. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know how to use similar specs to her Prince. I bet it plays almost exactly the same. Every company now has racquet lines with similar specs. It’s not like they made her use an existing racquet.

 

[Automatix]

This is nonsense in my opinion. They developed a racquet for Iga. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know how to use similar specs to her Prince. I bet it plays almost exactly the same. Every company now has racquet lines with similar specs. It’s not like they made her use an existing racquet.

What do you expect from the King of Trolls known to most of us under his previous allias, Fedace?

 

[Subway Tennis]

This is nonsense in my opinion. They developed a racquet for Iga. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know how to use similar specs to her Prince. I bet it plays almost exactly the same. Every company now has racquet lines with similar specs. It’s not like they made her use an existing racquet.

You're right about the technology being available to make something similar to the Prince that Swiatek was using (proprietry limitations notwithstanding).

What makes this situation so interesting though is that they havent really attempted to do that with the TG signature model that they made for Iga.

A lot of the specs of her new racquet are quite a bit different from the Prince frame she was using.

Maybe the testing period she had gave her the chance to really dial in specs perfect for her game, and this new frame feels even better for her than the Prince she was wielding previously.

Its a very interesting situation but still way too early to tell if or was a good or bad move imo.

 

[Automatix]

These comments remind of Radwańska.
When she switched to Srixon and lost matches the trolling blaming the racquet switch was also abundant. She started playing with her old Babolat painted black and what a shocker, she was still loosing matches.

 

[fox]

I think with Prince she just continued to use the racquet she played from late juniors but it was never made for her. This was specifically prepared for her so I think she could tweak it a bit as she wanted.

 

[Subway Tennis]

Swaitek suck after switching to technifiber. when will she go back to Prince ?

Imagine if Iga went back to Prince, but started using one of those new Prince Twist frames and won the next 2 or 3 majors. The Prince twist franes would become one of the best selling racquets on the market.

 

[fox]

Imagine if Iga went back to Prince, but started using one of those new Prince Twist frames and won the next 2 or 3 majors. The Prince twist franes would become one of the best selling racquets on the market.

I really doubt it. Top sellers for years include Babolat PD, APD, Wilson Blades or RFs. I don’t think it will change in a short time. Osaka won 3 slams and is marketable still Ezone is not between top sellers. Even if it maybe sells better than before.

 

[dumb-person]

Swiatek forehand looks much worse ever since she changed her racquet. Before it used to be shot of beauty, now it looks really fugly sometimes.

 

[SumYungGai]

I bet the Iga racquet is a great frame to buy and lead up.

 

[Nostradamus]

when will she go back to prince ?

 

[SumYungGai]

when will she go back to prince ?

What Prince frame was she using?

 

[jmacdaununder2]

Imagine if Iga went back to Prince, but started using one of those new Prince Twist frames and won the next 2 or 3 majors. The Prince twist franes would become one of the best selling racquets on the market.

Maybe; but with that particular model it might need someone more like Alcaraz?