Iga Swiatek is arguably the most scrutinised name in tennis right now. Swiatek was considered to be the epitome of work ethic and determination, making it big in the sport from a small country like Poland. However, the latest doping controversy has made her lose some credibility and now a year-old video of hers has gone viral.
In 2023, Swiatek featured in an interview with BBC. The former World No.1 passionately called for a ban on Russian and Belarusian players due to the escalating Russia-Ukraine war. Swiatek compared the situation to World War II and what happened after that, as German, Italian and Japanese players were banned across many sports after that.
Swiatek conceded that the locker room atmosphere at the time on the WTA Tour was ‘pretty tense’. Interestingly, her biggest rival is from Belarus, Aryna Sabalenka, who eclipsed the Pole to become the World No.1 recently.
The first irony of all this is that Sabalenka became No.1 when Swiatek did not play in the Asian swing this year. And it was during that period when Swiatek ‘opted’ to serve 22 days of her ban, out of the 30 days of her provisional suspension by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
Secondly, Swiatek out of all players calling for a ban on others due to their nationalities, is interesting since she herself was playing during her own ban recently. Even though she has 8 days left to serve, she was permitted to play in the WTA Finals and the Billie Jean King Cup.
Getting accused of doping with a prohibited substance in an out of competition sample, doesn’t now make her really eligible for advocating such stances. This is something tennis influencer Pavvy G pointed out on social media.
A reminder that Iga Swiatek wanted a blanket ban on all Russians and Belarusians (Sabalenka being her primary rival).
She was allowed to play in the @WTA tour finals and @BJKCup and got just a month ban in the offseason for failing a drug test.pic.twitter.com/n9Bi2i7WRm
— Pavvy G (@pavyg) November 29, 2024
This is not the only controversy Swiatek has been involved in, throughout her career so far. While there is no doubt that her talent and skill has made her win 5 Grand Slams, fans of the sport do not forgive dishonesty, disrespect and gamesmanship since tennis stands for more than just winning.
Swiatek and her controversies so far
At Wimbledon 2024, Swiatek did not congratulate or credit her opponent Yulia Putintseva after losing to her in the third round. Swiatek, who had won the French Open a few weeks prior to that, blamed her loss at the fact that she was unable to recover and rest well after Roland Garros. This was said in the post-match press conference, which went viral and made many question Swiatek’s sportsmanship.
Earlier this season, just minutes before her United Cup quarter-final singles match, Swiatek smacked Qinwen Zheng with a serve during their warmup. Just as Zheng was turning back to face the ball after speaking with a ball girl off the court, the ball smacked into her right wrist. This angered the Chinese player and she exchanged some words with Swiatek.
Swiatek did put her hand up to apologize but everything seemed half-hearted. The Pole was quick to say sorry but Zheng was not pleased with her apology. Swiatek saw Zheng staring at her and apologized again by lifting her two fingers off the ball. Both the players then returned to warming up before the start of their match.
The tennis community on Reddit were not happy with Swiatek’s behavior. Some fans felt that the Polish player does it too often, while others thought that Swiatek is childish. Some people even called Swiatek thoughtless for the things she does on the court.
In a separate instance, during the San Diego Open 2022 final against Donna Vekic, Swiatek had a clear case of hindrance against her. She came under fire when she was waving her hands around as Vekic was in her serve motion, to distract her. This act disappointed many tennis fans as well.
When asked about the same after the match, Swiatek said in a press conference –
“I can’t control it, but I hope it will never happen again. We are working on it. It is an involuntary reaction. I did it during the US Open, and as I recall, it was a stressful moment.”
At present, Swiatek seems to have lost her star power in the sport. Although she won the French Open and a bronze medal at the Olympics this year among big accolades, she would not fondly remember the 2024 season. Although her new coach Wim Fissette feels that she is innocent and is working hard on her game, will fans forget what all has happened so far involving her? Well, the jury is still out on that.
