Iga Swiatek calls for end to online hate: ‘The amount of criticism me and my team get after losing a set is ridiculous’
World No 1 Iga Swiatek called for an end to online hate after she received angry messages following her victory over Zheng Qinwen in the last 16 of the Cincinnati Open.
Swiatek, who will now face this year’s Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the quarter-finals, appeared upset in her press conference after being criticised for dropping the opening set in her 3-6 6-1 6-1 win over Zheng.
The Polish player said: “Today’s match wasn’t perfect. We all saw that. But the amount of hate and criticism me and my team get after losing a set is ridiculous. I want to encourage people to be more thoughtful when they comment on the internet.
Swiatek will play Marketa Vondrousova in the quarter-finals in Ohio
“We all sacrifice a lot. We’re all working really hard to be in that place. We’re always giving 100 per cent of what we can do every day. It’s sad for me to see that people I work with and myself, we’re really judged.”
Swiatek said she experienced similar criticism following her defeat in the Dubai Championships final earlier this year, shortly after winning the Qatar Open.
She added: “I was pretty proud of my results but people really just saw the last match and that I lost in the final and they shouldn’t.
“I’m putting a lot of energy for it not to hit too deeply, but I realised that sometimes people – I don’t know if they’re my fans or not but they want me to play better – cause me to waste a lot of energy to ignore them.”
Swiatek beats Zheng after change of outfit
Swiatek’s win over Zheng came following a change of outfit after she lost the first set.
The four-time Grand Slam champion swapped her white ensemble for a black one and proceeded to win 12 and lose just two of the next 14 games.
Swiatek beat Zheng Quinwen after changing her outfit
“Honestly, it’s because of my coach,” Swiatek said about her outfit change.
“He told me a couple months ago that after losing a set it might be a good idea to change your outfit so you can kind of reset and go into the second set in a different vibe.
“I thought this was a bad (idea) but I tried this time and it worked, so thank you coach.”
Vondrousova secured a showdown with Swiatek as she converted four of five break points during a 7-5 6-3 victory over Sloane Stephens.
Fifth seed Ons Jabeur benefited from a retirement – Donna Vekic quitting while trailing 5-2 in the opening set – and will now play no 2 Seed Aryna Sabalenka.
The other two quarter-finals see Coco Gauff take on qualifier Jasmine Paolini – the latter advancing after Elena Rybakina retired – and an all-Czech affair between Karolina Muchova and Marie Bouzkova.
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