Iga Świątek swaps racquet for boots in football training with Barcelona star Ewa Pajor before North American hardcourt swing
The six-time Grand Slam champion posted an Instagram video of a passing-and-shooting drill with the Barcelona forward, calling it a fun break before the Toronto and Cincinnati WTA 1000 events.
A crossover session on the pitch
Iga Świątek shared a training session with FC Barcelona forward Ewa Pajor on 25 July 2026, just before flying to North America for the summer hardcourt season. The 25-year-old posted a video on Instagram showing the two Polish athletes exchanging passes and firing shots at goal. Both players smiled throughout the drill, which Świątek described as a joyful diversion from her usual routine.
It was great fun. No doubt I'll stick to tennis for now. But I can't wait to see Ewa Pajor on the court!
Pajor, who joined Barcelona's women's team for the 2024–25 season and won the Champions League, has already begun pre-season preparations. The meeting gave her a light session in unusual company before competitive football resumes.
The psychologist link
Both women work with the same mental coach, Daria Abramowicz, who has supported Świątek since her junior years. Abramowicz began collaborating with Pajor last season, and the shared connection made the informal kickabout a natural fit. No formal coaching was involved; the video simply captured two elite athletes trading skills from their respective sports.
Świątek's season so far
Świątek arrives at the North American swing ranked eighth in the WTA standings, trailing leader Aryna Sabalenka by 4,011 points. She exited Wimbledon in the third round and will now switch to hard courts, starting with the WTA 1000 event in Toronto, followed by Cincinnati. The US Open, the year's final Grand Slam, looms at the end of the stretch. The football session was part of her general conditioning, not a sign of any code switch.
Świątek has long used football as a cross-training tool, often seen juggling a ball or playing small-sided games with her support team during tournaments. She has said she grew up loving the sport, preferring to play it herself rather than watch as a fan. School matches against boys were a regular feature of her childhood.
What comes next
Pajor will soon return to structured team sessions with Barcelona, while Świątek heads to Canada for a tournament that runs through early August. The tennis hardcourt season will test her fitness after the grass-court disappointment, and the light-hearted detour into football offered a mental reset before the grind of consecutive WTA 1000 events.
