The Queen of Clay, Iga Swiatek, is no longer ruling the Roland Garros throne after winning the clay court major 4 times. Her 26-match winning streak in Paris came to an end this year, broken by Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. Since that French Open win in 2024, the World No. 8 hasn’t made it to a final in any tournament. Now, she’s facing a familiar challenge: the grass. Swiatek had a third-round exit at Wimbledon last year, and the green surface has never really been her happy place. But this time around, something feels a little different. Let’s find out what’s changed.
Iga Swiatek’s grass-court season kicked off at the Bad Homburg Open, and it started on a high. The Pole took down former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. It was her first match of the tournament after a first-round bye and a couple of days of just practice. But if there’s anyone who doesn’t mind extra time on the practice court, it’s Swiatek. After her win, she said, “Honestly, I love practicing. I really have fun on the practice court. Especially on grass. On one hand, my tennis can be tricky. On the other hand, I have an opportunity to learn some new things. Wim, my coach, is implementing that all the time. He convinced me to try some new stuff. When you have a clear goal in practice of what to do, it’s really nice.”
The 23-year-old added, “You have the freedom to do whatever you want. You don’t need to adjust to your opponent or anything. You just play the way you want to. I really enjoy the time on practice courts. So it wasn’t a problem for me, I gotta say. And honestly, it’s not often that we have time between tournaments to practice. I use every day to just become a better player.”
Iga Swiatek after beating Azarenka to get 1st win of the grass swing in Bad Homburg
“You started the tournament on day 3. I know there’s practicing, but practicing could be boring. You wanna play matches of course…”
Iga. “Honestly I love practicing. I really have fun on the… pic.twitter.com/AcNuj5Mvqu
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 24, 2025
Iga Swiatek has been working with a new coach. After three years with Tomasz Wiktorowski, she brought Wim Fissette into her team at the end of 2024. But change doesn’t come easy. Her fitness coach, Maciej Ryszczuk, told TVPSPORT, “Iga has a strong character. The fact is that if the proposed changes don’t immediately bring the intended effect, i.e. these are changes that require a little time to implement and achieve the target result, it is sometimes difficult to convince Iga of them.”
Still, the changes are starting to show. Against Azarenka, Swiatek used a “cut serve” — a slicing serve wide — to draw her opponent into uncomfortable positions on the court. She landed 71% of her first serves and won 75% of those points. Azarenka, by comparison, won 66% of her first-serve points. The Pole also fired down 6 aces. That’s major progress.
Her tactics weren’t just about the serve. The 5-time Grand Slam champion followed through on her pre-tournament plan with Fissette by mixing in more slices and changing her shot trajectories. That gave her shots more zip and less spin, helping them stay low and skid through the grass. Swiatek hit 25 winners using flatter strokes and even stepped inside the court more often than usual, moving away from her typical baseline style. She also won 78% of her service games by keeping rallies short and sharp.
This match also made her walk away with a historic milestone.
Iga Swiatek matches Serena Williams in historical feat
The win against Victoria Azarenka marked Iga Swiatek’s 300th career match victory on tour. Even more impressive? She’s done it in just 372 matches. That makes her the 11th-fastest WTA player to reach 300 wins.
Only one woman has reached the milestone quicker. None other than Serena Williams, who did it in 359 matches. That puts Swiatek in elite company. The Pole will gladly take a strong start on grass, especially after her recent dip in form and history of struggles on the surface.
Her next match will be in the quarterfinals at Bad Homburg, where she’ll face either Ekaterina Alexandrova or Maria Sakkari. Swiatek is still chasing her first-ever grass final, but she’s off to a promising start this year. The grass may finally be greener for Iga. Can she keep the momentum rolling into Wimbledon? What do you think?
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