Rennae Stubbs picks out the tactical flaw holding Iga Swiatek back

“If I was coaching her and was on the court with her I would say stay with the same shot,” Stubbs said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. “You don’t need to change the direction of the ball that much.

“I think you should stop trying to hit the sidelines.

“Hit the ball big and rely on the relentless pressure you are putting on your opponent, to be able to say, you change direction, you move this ball somewhere else, I’m not going to.

“I am going to stay in this rally as long as I can, with the same intensity.”

This year, Swiatek has suffered losses to Elina Svitolina, Belinda Bencic, Maria Sakkari, Elena Rybakina, Magda Linette and Coco Gauff.

While many of these losses are not egregious, these are all players whom Swiatek is more than capable of defeating.

Stubbs had another theory about what might be impacting Swiatek’s current form beyond just shot selection:

I think she hasn’t quite recovered from losing that Australian Open final last year.”

Rennae Stubbs believes Iga Swiatek is rushing her point construction

“If I was coaching her and was on the court with her I would say stay with the same shot,” Stubbs said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. “You don’t need to change the direction of the ball that much.

“I think you should stop trying to hit the sidelines.

“Hit the ball big and rely on the relentless pressure you are putting on your opponent, to be able to say, you change direction, you move this ball somewhere else, I’m not going to.

“I am going to stay in this rally as long as I can, with the same intensity.

This year, Swiatek has suffered losses to Elina Svitolina, Belinda Bencic, Maria Sakkari, Elena Rybakina, Magda Linette and Coco Gauff.

While many of these losses are not egregious, these are all players whom Swiatek is more than capable of defeating.

Stubbs believes one area where Swiatek can make a difference is by adjusting her approach during rallies. Instead of looking for winners too soon and changing directions early in points, she could focus more on building pressure through sustained aggression.

“That part doesn’t bother me,” Stubbs said. “What bothers me is why do we keep talking about footwork? The fact that she was so solid from both sides for so long.”