Iga Swiatek is gradually building up her clay-court form at the 2026 French Open, with the Polish star notching up a routine 6-4, 6-4 win against her compatriot Magda Linette in the third round. However, post her victory, the former World No.1 talked about a legend of the game, and how training with the same has helped her gain a new perspective on the sport.

“He’s showing it’s not always easy. It’s like on TV when he lifts his trophy, there’s a lot behind the scenes”, said Swiatek at the post-match interaction while talking about her learning with Nadal. Even the best players in the world sometimes struggle. He used to get over it & never give up,” added the Pole.

Swiatek has been training with Rafael Nadal in the build-up to the French Open, after switching coaches from Wim Fissette to Francisco Roig following Fissette’s departure in March. When the Pole was asked during her on-court interview after her third-round win regarding the new things she had learned from Nadal, she had a unique answer. Swiatek said that Nadal had helped her understand the mental side of the game, rather than rehashing technical pointers. The legendary Spaniard has imbued Swiatek with the “never give up” attitude, an approach he carried on every single day throughout a career of almost 20 years.

It is fitting that Nadal is the one who has spoken about struggling with Swiatek, as the Spaniard has had to endure multiple injuries throughout his career. The Spaniard made a point of playing while putting on a brave face, despite struggling internally. T

angling with injuries has been Nadal’s fate since his early years, as he was diagnosed with Müller Weiss Syndrome, which affected his foot for entirety of his career after he won his first major at the 2005 French Open. Despite doctors’ warnings not to continue his career, the Spaniard decided to keep going and won the 2006 French Open as well. He had to endure foot pain till his last French Open match against Alexander Zverev as well

As for Swiatek, her performances have dipped this year, as the former World No.1 has yet to win a title. She had four quarterfinal exits before getting through in Rome, where she lost to Elina Svitolina in the semifinal. However, what is more striking is the lack of clay-court titles for the Pole, with her last title on the surface coming in 2024.

The Pole made a conscious coaching change last year to adjust her game for faster surfaces, which led to her winning titles at Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open. However, the trade-off was the Pole’s topspin game, as she focused more on flat shots to succeed on faster surfaces, at the expense of her clay-court prowess. However, starting with Roig before the clay season and training with Nadal has helped her achieve good results on the surface, including a semifinal run in Rome.

The former Roland Garros champion appears to be in good form in Paris, but faces an opponent who is undefeated on clay this year.

Iga Swiatek Is Set to Face Undefeated Clay-Court Opponenet at the French Open

Iga Swiatek is all set to face Marta Kostyuk in the fourth round of the 2026 French Open, which will be one of the toughest assignments for the Pole. The Ukrainian has a perfect 15-0 win-loss record on clay this season, having won the title in Rouen and then having the biggest career success by winning the Madrid Open. She has been playing with power on the surface, hitting her baseline shots with precision, and her movement looks fluid.

Swiatek has the advantage of having won all three of her previous matches against Kostyuk, which includes a 6-3, 6-4 victory at the 2021 French Open. The Ukrainian will have the occasion of the match to contend with, as this is only the second fourth-round appearance at Roland Garros for the 15th seed, having reached the fourth round in 2021. On the other hand, Swiatek has lost only three matches at the clay-court Major, having won the title four times.

Swiatek has been returning to her topspin-heavy style on clay, which has been yielding decent results for the Pole. However, given the form of Kostyuk, the Ukrainian will get a chance if she attacks the Pole’s serve and manages to put one more ball in. As seen in the Rome loss, the Pole reverts to flatter hits in times of crisis in a match. If she does that, Kostyuk will have openings, making it a fascinating watch on Sunday.