Swiatek returns to her clay kingdom

Iga Swiatek can pretty much do it all on a tennis court.

However, with her penchant to slide and skid into shots, it's the clay courts where the Pole's computer game tennis truly electrifies.

Back from stint on the sidelines

In early march the 21-year-old sustained a rib injury en route to the Indian Wells semi-finals and was subsequently forced to skip the Miami Open and Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers.

Since then Swiatek has been recovering, recharging and preparing for her pursuit of more terre battue silverware.

"I'm not injured anymore, so that's the most important thing for me," said Swiatek in Stuttgart.

"I feel like I used that time in Warsaw well to rest a little bit and to not think about tennis.

"I have still been working out physically a little bit and obviously coming back to practising step by step. Here I am, and I think I'm ready."

Run to remember

The stats from the world No.1's 2022 season are barely believable. In a true purple patch Swiatek went on a six title, 37 match winning streak from February to July. Within that run was the majority of Swiatek's 2022 clay court exertions.

In Stuttgart the Pole rolled Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-2 for a fourth successive trophy triumph.

Over to Rome and Swiatek was in peak ruthlessness, taking out fellow Grand Slam champions Victoria Azarenka and Bianca Andreescu, before dismissing Sabalenka 6-2, 6-1 and Ons Jabeur 6-2, 6-2 in the final. 

The hot shots zooming around social media where astonishing, the cruise control persona was mightily impressive, Swiatek was playing on pure instinct and it was devastating.

Over to Roland-Garros 2022 and Swiatek replicated her recent form, brushing aside the high calibre trio of Jessica Pegula, Daria Kasatkina and Coco Gauff in her last three matches by surrendering just 12 games in total.

Her sternest test came in the fourth round, evading Zheng Qinwen 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-2. From then it rapidly became a second major on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

After the winning streak was finally snapped by Alize Cornet on the luscious lawns of Wimbledon in the third round, Swiatek returned to clay and returned to her homeland for the Poland Open.

The world No.1 fell in three sets to Caroline Garcia in the quarter-finals, meaning Swiatek's 2022 clay record finished at 18/19 victories, three titles, dropping just four sets along the way!

Stuttgart start for Iga

World No.25 Zheng Qinwen has managed to chalk up a set in both previous contests with Swiatek. Alongside their Roland-Garros battle, the Chinese youngster also pushed the Pole to a decider 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 in San Diego last October. 

The 20-year-old has the fearless striking and all-court prowess to clearly cause Swiatek problems and they meet again on Thursday in Stuttgart.

Should Swiatek prevail for a third time, there are plenty of challenges on the horizon.

Australian Open champion Sabalenka is a completely different proposition in 2023, the world No.2 opening her Stuttgart title tilt 6-2, 6-3 facing 2021 Roland-Garros winner Barbora Krejcikova.

Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina will certainly be on Swiatek's radar this clay season. The Kazakh blazed to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over the world No.1 at the Australian Open and fired 6-2, 6-2 onto their scoreboard in the Indian Wells semi-final. Rybakina and Swiatek is a developing rivalry we'd all welcome. 

Add Roland-Garros finalist Coco Gauff and the resurgent Ons Jabeur into the Stuttgart mix, as well as the next few weeks - with the ultra-consistent Jessica Pegula in the picture - it will be incredibly tricky for Swiatek to replicate her 2022 clay dominance

The chasing pack have the blue print, have the form and momentum. Can they derail Swiatek's Stuttgart comeback?

Iga finding her feet

Regardless of the result versus Zheng on Thursday, Swiatek is pleased to be back in the groove and defying injury.

The Pole arrived in Germany early to wield her racket in a series of high-quality practice contests with Garcia, Krejcikova and Donna Vekic, which appears to have had a reassuring impact.

"It's pretty easy to kind of just imagine that you are doing the same stuff from a match," stated the 21-year-old.

"I really used that to kind of get my focus 100 percent and imagine what decisions I would make during the match.

"I would say, I'm ready. We'll see on court, but honestly, these practises tell me that I play like I wouldn't even had a break. So it's pretty nice.

"I feel like after my experiences with injuries, like when I was younger, 2019, I always came back fast. So, I hope it's not gonna change when I'm gonna get older, but I feel like I'm still capable to do that."