Iga Swiatek is taking tennis practice to a whole new level. Her team advised her to train with her mouth taped and she listens to expert advise even though she doesn’t fully understand the reasoning behind it.
The world No.1 Swiatek was spotted practicing with her mouth taped at the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montreal. When asked about it at a pre-tournament press conference, the Polish player’s first reaction was:
Honestly, I don’t get it either.
The top seed at the WTA 1000 event then tried to explain the mouth taping method she’s been applying for a long time now:
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 think it has something to do with endurance, but I’m not going to explain it properly, cause I’m not an expert. Sometimes I don’t get the things they tell me to do either.
Summing up the answer to the question, the four-time Grand Slam champion explained that the taping on her mouth helps her work on her endurance. She doesn’t have to run too fast or do extreme things, since every movement is harder to do with the tape on.
In the end, the 22-year-old once again pointed out that she is not sure about the exact reasoning behind this unconventional training method:
My conditioning coach is going to facepalm probably.
Swiatek will face former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova in the first round of the Omnium Banque Nationale.
