Former American doubles specialist Nick Monroe called out Francisco Roig’s “awful” behavior towards Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Roig, who was Rafael Nadal’s assistant coach for 17 years, left Perricard to join Iga Świątek.
Świątek parted ways with Wim Fissette following her disappointing outings at the Sunshine Double to join Roig. Videos of the Polish superstar training with Roig at the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy have already surfaced on social media.
Nick Monroe Criticizes Francisco Roig for Departure to Iga Świątek
After his split with Emma Raducanu after this year’s Australian Open, Roig joined Perricard last month. However, the 58-year-old swapped camps again within a month to join six-time Grand Slam winner Świątek.
The turn of events didn’t sit well with Monroe, who slammed Roig for not informing the player directly and going via Perricard’s agent. During an interaction with Brad Gilbert on the Tennis Channel, he said:
“Well, look for Francisco Roig, this was something where he basically told the agent of Perricard that, ‘Hey, I’m going to be moving on to Świątek.'”
“Therefore, the agent then told Perricard that Francisco Roig was no longer going to be with him,” he continued. “From my standpoint, that’s ridiculous. That’s awful, up from a coach. Call your player, tell them you’re going to be moving forward. You know, it’s not that big of a deal.
“Perricard has also moved on. Now, Greg Rusedski is going to be his coach, but go to the player. Don’t go through the agent. Don’t go through the back door, and leave it like that.”
The announcement that Roig will team up with Świątek was made on April 2. Two days later, Perricard expressed his disappointment over how the Spaniard handled the situation. He also added that their plan was to work together at least until the grass-court season.
“It was my agent who informed me,” Perricard told L’Equipe. “He didn’t tell me directly. I trusted his word, what he could bring to the table. To throw all that away so quickly seems like a shame to me. Then, it’s a tough, ruthless world.”
Perricard, currently ranked 56th in the world, has had a difficult start to this year. He has a win-loss record of 5-9, including first-round exits at Indian Wells and the Miami Open. The Frenchman also had a troubled 2025 season, winning a Challenger title at the ATP 175 Bordeaux.
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