Iga Swiatek's Forehand Masterclass

Key Points

• The “typical” swing would be a high loop and then drop from low to high
• Iga would overextend with her takeback, so Michal decided to ‘hold the elbow close and make the swing path more linear’
• Short loop and take back with a relaxed wrist
• Iga’s short swing helps her generate power and racket head speed with a 'prepare and release' linear swing path
• Backhand swing path and take back was shorter with the elbows closer, using the legs to generate power through the shot
• Aim the ball and shot by the line of your swing
• “Single Tasking” so the player understands they are just working on keeping the elbow close to the body
• 9 ball set of drop feeding to observe the single task of keeping the elbow close
• 6 ball set with a Theraband over the shoulders to constrict the arms and keep the elbow close
• The legs play a big role in helping you generate topspin - “everything starts with the legs”
• As the ball bounces, the players should drop their legs at the same time and then drive up with the legs as they hit
• Constantly reinforcing the “Down, Up” movement helps ingrain it in the players muscle memory and subconscious mind when they should drop the legs down with the bal
• Closed grip with a long, relaxed swing focusing on brushing up on the ball
• Focus on the feeling of “Brushing up” instead of hitting
• Brush up on rally balls, defensive balls, approach shots and when hitting through the ball
• Michal focused on a close elbow when developing Iga Swiatek’s forehand to improve consistency of defense
• 9 ball set of faster hand feed’s to work on the defensive forehand, focusing on keeping the elbow close with “short moves”
• Continuously reminding the player to focus on “short moves”, helps them remember to keep the elbow close during difficult defensive situations in matches
• At a young age, Iga Swiatek had problems with an “overswing” or too big of a swing, which forced her to catch the ball late
• Keeping the elbow close to the body, while still brushing up and generating spin, helped Iga develop her forehand
• 9 ball sets of drive volleys from behind the baseline to help with generating more spin
• Drop feed balls to the player while they are sitting on the floor at 3 quarter court
• Have the player choke up on the racket and focus on the single task of taking a shorter swing and generating topspin
• This drill helps with the “end part” of the topspin swing
• Alternate between 3 shadow swings with a nice and relaxed arm and swing, and then 3 drop feeds focusing on the same relaxed motion
• Load with the back leg using an open stance
• Volley to volley helps to strengthen the forearm of the player, which will help with generating topspin on the forehand. Try and hit your coach!!