Tennis star Iga Swiatek has spoken after her meltdown that made her each ball child’s worst nightmare.
“I expressed frustration in a way I’m not proud of,” Swiatek wrote in an Instagram submit. “My intention was never to aim the ball at anyone but merely release my frustration by bouncing it on the ground.”
Swiatek is the previous No. 1 ladies’s participant on the planet and was on a 10-match successful streak earlier than falling to 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva within the semifinals at Indian Wells on Sunday.
Through the loss, her frustration mounted when she obtained a ball from the ball particular person and smacked it proper again in his path, narrowly lacking him.
“I immediately apologized to the ball boy, we made eye contact, and nodded to each other when I expressed regret that it happened near him,” Swiatek added.
Swiatek has a polarizing status, as she’s obtained backlash for quite a few various things.
Most notably, Swiatek examined optimistic for the prohibited substance trimetazidine, a coronary heart remedy additionally known as TMZ, in August 2024, resulting in a one-month suspension.
“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,” Swiatek stated.
Swiatek stated her frustrations result in a lot of her acts of poor sportsmanship.
“I know that playing while stuck in my past frustrations, over things beyond my control, isn’t the right path,” she stated. “Shifting perspective takes significant time, effort, and team support.”
Whereas accepting criticism, Swiatek identified double requirements with how she’s perceived by the general public eye’s “constant judgment.”
“When I’m highly focused and don’t show many emotions on the court, I’m called a robot, my attitude labeled as inhuman,” Swiatek stated. “Now that I’m more expressive, showing feelings or struggling internally, I’m suddenly labeled as immature or hysterical. That’s not a healthy standard.”
Swiatek stated she’s going to proceed to work on herself regardless of occasional bumps within the street — just like the incident at Indian Wells.
“Working on oneself isn’t something you achieve once and keep forever. Sometimes we take two steps forward and one step back,” Swiatek stated. “It’s never easy, and it’s particularly challenging for me right now. … I truly believe that even if I occasionally take two steps forward and one step back, I’ll reach these goals at my own pace.”
