Iga Swiatek made a passionate plea for her critics to give her some space in an Instagram post earlier this month and now she has opened up on why she opted to make that social media post post.
Many were surprised to read the long and heartfelt message from the world No 2, as he asked for some understanding after she stuck a ball in anger in Indian Wells that nearly hit a ball kid.
“First, about the incident during my last match. It’s true – I expressed frustration in a way I’m not proud of,” she wrote in a passionate statement on Instagram.
“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.”
She went on to discuss her emotions and suggested the positive doping test she recorded at the back end of 2024 – for which she was subsequently clearly of wrongdoing – has taken a toll on her.
“Regarding emotional expression,” she said in her Instagram statement. “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, and 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.”
“Working on oneself isn’t something you achieve once and keep forever,” the Pole added. “Sometimes we take two steps forward and one step back.
“I’m facing new elements of this puzzle all the time: circumstances change, my experiences evolve, I evolve, opponents evolve, and I must constantly adapt. It’s never easy, and it’s particularly challenging for me right now.”
It is unusual for an elite athlete to make such public comments, but the negativity flowing towards her appears to be continuing, with reports in her native Poland last week questioning the influence of psychologist Daria Abramowicz on the five-time Grand Slam champion.
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Now she has explained to Sky Sports Tennis why she decided to public with her grievances, as she insisted she is blocking herself off from social media snipes while she is competing at the Miami Open.
“I explained why my frustrations were a bit higher during the past months,” she said. “It’s hard to say it silenced the noise because during tournaments I’m mentally off. I’m not checking what’s going on on the internet but in Poland it’s not easy sometimes.
“I think abroad more people are distant to what’s going on with players and athletes overall. At home, they like to focus on every little thing that went wrong so I just wanted them to know that this is not the perfect way to support me, but I know there are fans that are supportive.
“This post was for them to explain why I was a little frustrated and what was in my head the last month.
“I just wanted to let it go and focus on the future. I feel a bit better and I feel like I can just do my job and not be under so much pressure and scrutiny. I will assess the situation after the tournament when I actually go on the internet.”
Swiatek is clearly trying to encourage her critics to step back from what appears to be media snipes about her on court and off court life, with the 23-year-old doing her best to try and turn the tide of negativity in a different direction.
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