Iga Swiatek units document straight after being noticed with tape over her mouth
Many have been left baffled when photos emerged of Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek sporting tape over her mouth throughout pre-tournament preparations for the Canadian Open. The World No 1 takes on Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova in a first-round tie on Wednesday in Montreal.
Last yr, she went crashing out within the spherical of 16 to unseeded Brazilian star Beatriz Haddad Maia over three units on centre courtroom however is aiming to go all the way in which in 2023. On Monday afternoon she was out on the courtroom, familiarising herself with the enjoying floor and going over some last-minute tactical changes earlier than her event opener with Pliskova.
Photos launched from her session present her swinging her racket with the tape over her mouth, which she finally took off on the finish of her session. Speculation arose on-line as to what the benefit of the weird coaching technique was however now Swiatek has come out and confirmed that it helps construct up her endurance by forcing her to breathe out of her nostril.
“I’ve been training with a tape over my mouth for some time because that’s how I increase endurance. My pulse rises faster when I’m not breathing through my mouth, so it helps me,” Swiatek told Sportal.
She later added during her pre-match press conference: “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.
“But for sure you can see the difference in how everything you do on the court is getting more and more hard with that tape on your mouth. So I guess it’s the way to kind of work on my endurance by not having me run so fast and do extreme things.”
Clearly, it is paying off. Swiatek has been in excellent form as of late, recently winning the French Open in June and remains on top of the WTA rankings for the 70th week straight at the time of writing.
But there is more to come. The Pole says she feels “more confident” heading into this stage of the season than she did final yr, when she racked up a 37-match win streak earlier than a shock exit within the third spherical of Wimbledon by the hands of Alize Cornet.
“I remember for sure I had some technical struggles that I focused more in terms of where I wanted to improve, but I was kind of stuck with a few shots that I didn’t like. This year I don’t have that. I feel more confident,” she informed assembled media.