“I don’t need the fakeness,” Danielle Collins declared to Iga Swiatek following their quarterfinal Olympic match loss. Swiatek’s final score of 6-1, 2-6, 4-1 was eclipsed by the excitement surrounding the match. Despite the fact that it was only their eighth on-court meeting, Collins—who had fallen short of the Pole six times before—seemed unsatisfied with Swiatek’s actions addressing her illness throughout the game. The World No. 1 player has finally shared her thoughts on the subject after nearly two weeks.
All of us were taken aback by Swiatek’s sudden elimination from the Paris Olympics semifinals. The four-time Roland Garros red clay champion, who has won five Grand Slam titles, was unable to overcome Qinwen Zheng in the semifinals. Quite peculiar, don’t you think?The same thing was implied by a reporter in an interview with SportoweFakty.”Did the disturbance following your bout with Danielle Collins impact your subsequent performance against Qinwen Zheng?”
“I am a professional, and such things have no effect on how I play tennis later on,” retorted Swiatek with firmness. I chose not to pursue the matter further because, to this day, I have no idea where her comment originated. I just paid attention to myself.
The match began with Collins’ shot inadvertently hitting Swiatek in the midsection, which sparked a heated exchange between the two. Swiatek took his time lying down on the red clay as a result. But as the game progressed, it got more intense, and Swiatek called a timeout, blaming crowd disturbance. The World No. 8 was reportedly caught swearing at her opponent, so this did not sit well with her.”It seems like nobody is following me. Collis yelled at the 23-year-old gamer, “Play at the servers pace.”
How do you feel about it?
Collins’ irritation increased as the remainder of the play intensified and she lost control of the game. She realized by the last set that her hopes of competing in the Olympics would shortly be dashed. The American player blasted the Olympic organizers for neglecting to supply water at this critical period. And the Miami Open champion pulled out of the match completely as a result of cramping brought on by dehydration.
Collins continued to criticize her opponent after this, saying, “I told Iga she didn’t have to be dishonest about my injury. Many people with a lot of charisma come off as one way in the locker room and another way on camera, and a lot of things happen on television. I don’t need the fakeness; people may be who they are, and I can accept that.
Swiatek was likewise perplexed by Collins’ remarks, which shocked the supporters as well. She responded to the situation after the game, even though she didn’t allow it influence her play. She was unable to solve the mystery behind Collins’ remarks.
According to Swiatek, he doesn’t “know what the whole situation was about” with Collins.
Following the match, Collins’ frustration with her performance increased. The American player regrets not being able to give her all during her first and last Olympic campaign. As Collins contemplated her next move, Swiatek stayed put, attempting to ascertain what had caused Collins’ rage following the game.
“I won’t guess here, but I don’t know if the prolonged pause could have given my rival a reason. However, generally speaking, at tournaments, we get five minutes to change clothes before we go out,” she remarked, speculating as to whether Collins’ annoyance stemmed from her pause during the match. “I really don’t know what the whole situation was about, but I didn’t do anything against the rules, so I honestly didn’t know how much time had passed,” she continued.
However, since then, both players have moved on. Right now, Swiatek’s main goal is to win the Cincinnati Masters and stage a spectacular comeback. But will their next meeting be tainted by this unspoken resentment between them? Time will tell!
