Rafael Nadal doesn't see events as practice tournaments, but a player who idolized him, Iga Swiatek, does see some that way, as per her own words ahead of the 2024 Cincinnati Open.
Using the words 'practice tournament' for such a huge event as a WTA 1000 event isn't something many players would do, but when it comes to Swiatek, she was just being honest.
The Polish player has practiced brutal honesty for a while now, and that's just her speaking her mind. She last played at the Paris Olympics, finishing third and winning the bronze medal.
It wasn't the medal she was after, but the blame is firmly on her. She couldn't perform at her best in the most important match against Qinwen Zheng, and that's a loss she will simply have to bear for a while.
After skipping the Canadian Open in favor of some rest, Swiatek will return to tennis at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati. The expectations aren't high for Swiatek because it's her first hard-court tournament, even in a very long time.
It's been a few months since her last hard court matches, and there are a lot of things that will make it tricky to adjust to the conditions quickly. After taking some rest after the Olympics, she will use this event to get used to the hard courts again.
"I felt like after the Olympics I needed to reset and just focus on getting my technique back and grinding on court. Here is the perfect place to do it…I think I got into a different rhythm here, where we’re only focused on the practices that I have and that’s it. I think that kind of helps me to rest off the court. I’m not expecting to have a break in the middle of the season, so I’m not thinking like that at all!"
One thing that could benefit the World No. 1 player at the upcoming event is the use of the lighter tennis balls, which are back this year after being ditched after the 2022 season.
She won the 2022 US Open, and she was quite dominant; however, it will take her some time to get used to that again. The balls they are going to use haven't been used for two years, so she will need some time to get used to them.
"Last year we tested Wilson’s Heavy Duty and this year we came back to Regular Duty. We haven’t played with these particular balls in, like, two years, which is just another thing to think about when you go out on court for us players because we’re obviously thinking about these things."
"They’re lighter, they lose their heaviness after a while because the hair from the ball is gone after about 15 minutes. I played with these in 2022, and so I need to kind of remember how it was."
"With all the changes with the surface and the balls, you can’t just expect to make constant progress. You need to focus on adjusting, and that’s what I’ll do now."