Iga Świątek maintains excellent form. On Sunday night, she beat Donna Vekić in the final in San Diego. It was her ninth final this year, she lost only once – a week ago in Ostrava against Barbara Krejcikova after an exciting fight lasting more than three hours.

It wasn’t any easier in San Diego. The Pole came to the States directly from the Czech Republic, she had to play the matches through jet lag. In addition, she is still struggling with a cold that happened to her in Ostrava. By defeating Vekić, she recorded her 64th victory of the season (with only eight defeats). 72 matches are the horse’s dose of tennis.

A professional of the highest class

How can Świątek keep fit despite such an intense season? This is due, among other physical trainer Maciej Ryszczuk. He is a high level specialist. In an interview with Sport.pl’s Łukasz Jachimiak, he was praised by former Świątek coach Piotr Sierzputowski.

– If Maciek Ryszczuk was a guy who could be robbed, I would have robbed him right away, without hesitation. He is a specialist in physical preparation, but also an expert who takes great care of the player’s health. Moreover, a man who introduces a good atmosphere, approaches everything at ease and is very professional at the same time. They are the absolute world leaders in their profession. And I don’t even know if I would put someone higher than his – said Sierzputowski, who currently leads the 37th Shelby Rogers in the world.

Ryszczuk is somewhat overshadowed by the other members of the Świątek team – head coach Tomasz Wiktorowski and psychologist Daria Abramowicz – but he plays an equally important role. Even the best tactics, analysis of opponents, development of individual games on the court or mental support are not enough if the tennis player does not have the appropriate physical abilities to compete at the highest level. Maciej Ryszczuk provides all of this to Iga Świątek.

Not only the gym, but also the departure schedule

In June, after the victory at Roland Garros, I asked Ryszczuk how Swiatek was able to withstand the hardships of the season. – Thanks to good programming and a reasonable approach to planning the season and the vision for the coming years – he said. – You have to try to monitor the load and manage it and talk about these aspects within the team – added the physical preparation coach.

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It’s not just about working in the gym, regenerating or strengthening the body, but also about planning the season and career well. Ryszczuk analyzes the best performances of Serena Williams and other top tennis players to draw conclusions on how to physically prepare her player. Hence the decision, for example, to skip the Madrid tournament this year.

Spain’s absence was a big step for Iga Świątek. The Pole was during the already memorable winning streak (it ended with 37 consecutive wins) and needed a rest before Rome and Roland Garros. It’s easy to recover from the body with too many starts, but the surroundings of Świątki have long ensured that the Pole does not follow in the footsteps of other young tennis players.

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Even before Maciej Ryszczuk joined our representative’s team, her former colleagues also took care of the proper timing of Świątek’s performances. Yes, to respect his body, so that his career lasts ten years, and does not end as quickly as it exploded quickly. Departure planning is, of course, the role not only of physical preparation coaches (Ryszczuk, formerly Jolanta Rusin – Krzepota), but also of general coaches (Wiktorowski, formerly Sierzputowski). Moreover, Iga Świątek’s father, Tomasz, was always careful not to overload his daughter with too many tournament starts.

Young talents are not everything

Recent examples of young female tennis stars show how important physical preparation is, and talent alone is not enough. September marked three years since Bianca Andreescu won the 2019 US Open when the Canadian stood in the way of Serena Williams. Today, she is 57th in the world and does not look like this tennis player.

Andreescu is 22, a year older than Świątek. After winning the US Open, she had many health problems. She returned to the game after months of hiatus, and returns have often been moderately successful.

Even further down the rankings is 19-year-old Emma Raducanu, who is currently ranked 68th. The Briton changes coach, but does not find the form that allowed him to win last year in New York. She also has a lot of health problems, because of that she withdrew from the event in Romania a few days ago.

Raducanu plans to start working with Jez Green, the expert who was in charge of Andy Murray’s physical preparation. May he help her get back on track.