Iga Swiatek defends her on-court emotions, slams 'unhealthy standards' and 'constant judgment'

By SABC Sport
18th March 2025

Iga Swiatek has hit back at the "unhealthy standards" and "constant judgment" that she faces, stating the criticism of her recent on-court behaviour and emotions are over the top.

The five-time Grand Slam winner came in for criticism during her Indian Wells Open semi-final defeat to Mirra Andreeva after she smashed a ball from a ball kid on the ground and it came close to hitting the youngster.

She was booed by those in the stands while social media users also slammed her over the "ugly and dangerous" incident.

There have also been a few other contentious moments involving the world No 2 as she smashed her racket during her loss to Jelena Ostapenko at the Qatar Open.

In a passionate Instagram post, Swiatek wrote: "I see there's been a lot of recent talk about changes in my on-court behaviour and emotions. Although I'm not comfortable explaining myself, it's time I share my perspective to stop the speculation and baseless theories.

"First, about the incident during my last match. It's true - I expressed frustration in a way I'm not proud of. My intention was never to aim the ball at anyone but merely to release my frustration by bouncing it on the ground.

"I immediately apologised to the ball boy, we made eye contact, and nodded to each other when I expressed regret that it happened near him.

"I've seen many players bounce balls in frustration, and frankly, I didn't expect such harsh judgments. Usually, I control such impulses, so half-jokingly I can say I lack experience in this and misjudged my aim in the heat of the moment."

Swiatek has not won a title since she successfully defended her French Open crown in June last year as she endured a difficult final few months of the 2024 season following her failed drug test in August.

She returned a positive sample for the banned substance trimetazidine, but she was cleared of any wrongdoing as her melatonin medication was found to be contaminated.

The Pole was given a three-month ban and missed a series of high-profile tournaments, resulting in her losing the world No 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka and she admits she has produced "weaker performances" recently.

The 23-year-old continued: "Secondly, regarding emotional expression. The second half of last year was extremely challenging for me, especially due to the positive doping test and how circumstances completely beyond my control took away my chance to fight for the highest sporting goals at the end of the season.

"This forced me to rearrange certain things within myself. In Australia, after weaker performances in previous years, I played without expectations, focused solely on my work, accepting that another Australian Open might not go my way regardless of my efforts. Thanks to this mindset, I performed very well and was close to reaching the final.

"In the Middle East, however, it struck me hard that my positive test result case, missing two highly-ranked tournaments in October, and last year's exceptional results (winning four 1000-level tournaments and a Grand Slam in the first half of the season) will keep affecting my ranking and basically take away my chance for No 1.

"This realisation deeply upset me. You could see this on the court in Dubai.

"I know that playing while stuck in past frustrations, over things beyond my control, isn't the right path. My team and I recognised this issue almost immediately (with their experience, probably faster than anyone could imagine), but shifting perspective takes significant time, effort, and team support."