The World No. 1 player was observed on the practice courts in the days before the competition with a piece of tape covering her mouth.
The unique practice, devised by Swiatek’s fitness trainer Maciej Ryszczuk, helps her limit her oxygen intake to increase endurance.
Swiatek explained the reason behind this unusual exercise and said: “It’s harder to breathe when you’re only breathing with your nose, and it’s easier for my heart rate to go up. I’m not going to explain it to you perfectly because I’m not an expert. Sometimes I don’t get the things they tell me to do, but I’m doing that for a long time now so it got pretty easy.”
She is still the only athlete that always travels with a professional sports psychologist. Her team monitors her heart and brain activity with medical equipment to look for signs of stress.
"It's harder to breathe when you are only breathing through your nose and it is easier for my heart rate to go up… but I am not going to be able to explain it properly because I am not an expert." – Iga Swiatek after practising with tape over her mouth🤐#tennis #igaswiatek pic.twitter.com/mztNXDpyM6
— Tennis365 (@tennis365com) August 7, 2023
Iga Swiatek in 2023
WWWWLWLWWW Ranked no.1, Iga played her last match on the 30th of July when she beat world no.90 Yanina Wickmayer 6-1 7-6(6) in the semifinal in Warsaw (draw).
During this season Iga owns a compiled 47-7 win-loss record. The Pole clinched 4 titles in 2023 in Doha, Stuttgart, French Open and Warsaw. Swiatek got to the final in Dubai and Madrid.
