World’s number two Iga Swiatek said she was not proud of the way she expressed her frustration at the WTA 1000 Indian Wells Open tournament, where she almost hit a courtside boy after angrily throwing the ball into the ground. But she added that she did not expect “such a harsh sentence”.
The five-time Grand Slam champion has been heavily criticized for the incident, which occurred during her 1-2 (6:7(1), 6:1, 3:6) semi-final loss to eventual champion Mirra Andreeva.
“It’s true, I expressed my frustration in a way I’m not proud of. My intention was never to hit anyone with the ball, but to release my frustration by hitting it into the ground”, wrote Iga Swiatek on her Instagram account. “I immediately apologized to the boy, we made eye contact and expressed my regret that this could happen to him. I’ve seen a lot of players hit the ball in anger and, frankly, they don’t expect such a harsh sentence”, added she.
Iga Swiatek added that the latter part of last year was a big test for her. She accepted a one-month suspension in November for testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine.
“When I’m completely focused and don’t show much emotion on the court, I’m called a robot, my behavior is considered inhuman. Now I’m more expressive, showing emotion, and suddenly I’m considered immature or hysterical”, said Iga Swiatek. “It’s not healthy – especially after six months ago I felt like my career was in danger, I spent three weeks crying every day and not wanting to even step on the court”, admitted the Polish tennis player.
