"Iga Swiatek is so good on clay, she reminds me of Steffi Graf & Arantxa Sanchez Vicario" - Serena Williams' ex-coach

Iga Swiatek reminds Serena Williams' former coach, Rennae Stubbs, of all-time greats like Steffi Graf and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. The Aussie's comments bear great credibility, considering her past work with several top players.

Swiatek turned up trumps in the final of the Madrid Open against Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday (May 4), outlasting her 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7) in three hours and 11 minutes. The World No. 1 weathered some explosive groundstrokes from her second-ranked opponent during the match and kept her composure when it mattered the most.

Rennae Stubbs, who worked with Serena Williams in the latter's swan-song year in 2022, showered rich praise on Iga Swiatek's tactics while speaking to former pro Andrea Petkovic on her Racquet podcast. She asserted that the 22-year-old ensured that Sabalenka wouldn't be able to maintain her rhythm during rallies by hitting more and more mid-court balls, which are impervious to a bad bounce on clay.

Stubbs then compared Iga Swiatek to claycourt greats like Steffi Graf and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, stating that all three players are adept at moving into their groundstrokes during baseline exchanges.

"It was one or two points where it really came down to it, where Iga Swiatek got the ball back cross court but in the middle of the court," Rennae Stubbs said on the latest Racquet podcast (43:21). "So, through the middle of the court, I call it the tunnel. It's a very big thing for me and I coach it. Hit it through the tunnel, especially on clay and you're gonna find a shitty bounce in the middle of the court there, where everybody runs.

"You might get a dirty bounce. But I get it back, and because Iga is such a great mover on clay," she added (43:42). "She is so good on clay, she reminds me of Arantxa Sanchez and Steffi Graf and the great claycourt movers, where you know they can get a ball that not many can, because they can just glide to the shot."

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Rennae Stubbs on Iga Swiatek's Madrid Open-winning game: "That's where the errors came right when it mattered, including match point"

Iga Swiatek retrieves a ball during the Madrid Open final.

Rennae Stubbs is a former World No. 1 in doubles who competed from 1992 to 2011. Since the end of her playing career, she has coached the likes of Serena Williams, Karolina Pliskova and Sam Stosur.

In her capacity as a renowned coach, the 53-year-old further analyzed Iga Swiatek's shots during the interaction with Petkovic. She claimed that the Pole is good at coercing unforced errors from her opponents, including Aryna Sabalenka, who hit a cross-court regulation forehand long at match point down to hand her rival the Madrid Open title.

"And her flighting ability on open stance on her forehand and her backhand is outrageously crazy. It's unbelievable. It forces women to make the most impossible shot," Rennae Stubbs said (44:04). "As they try and attempt to hit winners... and that's where the errors came right when it mattered, including match point."

Andrea Petkovic agreed with the Aussie, insisting that Sabalenka could've come up with a better follow-through on her forehand on match point.

"Match point, yeah, exactly. That was exactly why Aryna went for the corner instead of the middle of the court, but she tried to hit the T... went a little long," Petkovic added (44:21). "Madrid has a bit of altitude, so if you're not fully committed and try to guide it, it goes right away."