“At the beginning, I felt like technically she had some things that were obstructing her almost from playing the way that she could play,” Zaniewska explained.
“Now, when it’s a little bit free on both wings and also on the serve, it’s like she always had the options but now she’s able to use them more freely. Because she doesn’t make as many mistakes, because it’s just fixed, in the way she moves and in the way she swings.”
The second phase was focusing on tactics and gaining a better understanding of her own game – knowing what’s the best way to play at a given moment, “because with so many tools you can get lost very easily,” Zaniewska explained.
Kostyuk has also been doing mental economy training with Dr. Riccardo Ceccarelli, which is a science-based approach to mental training.
Making it happen
All these improvements came together for Kostyuk during this clay swing and Zaniewska jokes that she may have accidentally manifested this winning streak.
“During Billie Jean King Cup week (early April), I gave an interview and they asked me, what would I see for her? What would I want for her this year?” Zaniewska recalls.
“And I said, I would want her to get a title because I feel like this could start a good momentum. And this is literally what happened the week after, right? So, I was like, yes, I have to say more things that I want for her to happen in interviews.”
