Iga Swiatek will be in Malaga this week for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals with Poland: events that will be held a week before the Davis Cup and the farewell of tennis legend Rafael Nadal. The Polish player, during the press conference on the eve of the last event of the women's season, focused on the retirement of her Spanish idol, which will take place in Malaga. Iga admitted how much the Spanish champion was a source of inspiration, especially for his 14 titles at the French Open. A career that Swiatek is partly retracing, having already won in Paris 4 times. The WTA No.2, despite being a big fan of the Spaniard, will not be able to attend the farewell party.
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"I will miss him on the court. I know it's a good decision for him, he played so well for so many years that he deserves to enjoy the second part of his life. I hope he finds goals that make him happy. He is a great person and I wish him the best. I would have liked to attend his tournament, but I have to start the pre-season after participating in this competition. Rafa had a huge impact on me, on my way of seeing tennis and on my career," she explained.
Swiatek closed the Orange Group of the WTA Finals in Riyadh, with an elimination. The Polish player, who has seen Aryna Sabalenka overtake her in the WTA ranking in recent weeks, is not experiencing a period of excellent form, but will try to reverse the trend in the last commitment, before the well-deserved holidays.
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Iga had also had interesting words on the eve of the year-end Masters in Saudi Arabia. She had had considerations on what she can improve with Wim Fisette. She would like to improve her serve, as she has done in recent years. Iga revealed that she feels she has to continue to do so, as she does not feel like a complete player. Tactically, she said there are many ways in which she could have more variety on the court. The Pole stressed that Wim has good ideas on this and they have been preparing for the Finals but that they will talk about the real changes during the pre-season.
"It is important to understand that this is a long-term thing, if I want to have a long and balanced career. In the future I will have to make some difficult decisions. For example, more experienced players decide to skip some tournaments to give their best in the Grand Slams. Novak is a good example to watch," she said.
