Iga Swiatek reveals Rafael Nadal’s surprising advice amid growing Roland Garros challenge from Marta Kostyuk (Image via Getty)

Iga Swiatek is once again advancing at Roland Garros. The four-time French Open champion defeated fellow Polish player Magda Linette 6-4, 6-4 in Paris on Friday to book her place in the fourth round. The win also gave Swiatek a brief chance at revenge after Linnett defeated her at the Miami Open earlier this season. The win was Swiatek’s third consecutive win at this year’s tournament and kept alive his hopes of adding another Roland Garros title to his collection. Next, she will face Marta Kostyuk, who reached the fourth round after defeating Viktorija Golubić in straight sets and extending her clay-court winning streak. However, after her latest win, Swiatek wasn’t just talking about tennis. Instead, he shared how Rafael Nadal’s lessons have helped him deal with difficult moments and stay focused during matches. Nadal, who won Roland Garros a record 14 times, spent time working with Swiatek earlier this year and says those conversations will continue to help him on court.

Iga Swiatek says Rafael Nadal’s advice and mentality will continue to help him at Roland Garros

Speaking after her win over Magda Linette, Swiatek explained that Nadal’s biggest influence was not just technical advice. “There were some technical tips, but the most you can learn from Rafa is his approach to the game and he also showed that it is not always easy,” Swiatek said.“It seems like when he lifts his trophy on TV, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes. Even the best players in the world struggle sometimes. He got over it and worked at this thing and never gave up.“Rafa is the perfect example of that and he can share some stories with me too, which is amazing because he’s really open to advice and I really appreciate that.”Swiatek began teaming up with Nadal’s former coach Francisco Roig at the beginning of the clay-court season. This partnership began after his coaching relationship with Wim Fiset ended. Roig was part of Nadal’s team during many of the Spaniard’s great successes and has also worked with Emma Raducanu and Giovanni Mpeteschi Pericard.So far, Swiatek and Roig have worked together during tournaments in Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome. Although she has not won a title since the partnership began, her performance in Paris shows that she is gaining confidence at the right time. Roland Garros has been one of the most successful tournaments of Swiatek’s career. It won the trophy in 2020 and then won three consecutive titles from 2022 to 2024. Over the years, very few players have managed to stop him in Paris.Now, having been assured of another fourth round appearance, Swiatek remains one of the strongest contenders for the title. Her next challenge against Marta Kostyuk is expected to be much tougher, but the lessons she learned from Rafael Nadal will continue to help her as the tournament reaches its biggest stage yet.