Iga Swiatek says she is ‘grateful’ a system is in place to protect players after encountering an incident with a fan during last month’s Miami Open.
The world No.2 was provided with extra security during the WTA 1000 event after a man was acting ‘aggressive’ and ‘taunting’ her during one of her practice sessions. It was reported that he was shouting insults about the tennis star’s family.
It is not the first time this season that a female player has to deal with unpleasant incidents involving members of the public. Another man was given a restraining order after stalking Emma Raducanu at multiple tournaments and approaching her in person in Dubai. According to a police report, he left Raducanu ‘a note, took her photograph, and engaged in behavior that caused her distress.’
Speaking about her incident to reporters in Stuttgart, Swiatek dismissed the suggestion that she was threatened.
“I wouldn’t call it a threat because it wasn’t that hard. I mean, for sure there was a fan that wanted to disrupt my rhythm. I try to focus on the fans that are giving me support,” said Swiatek.
“But obviously when you hear something like that, you want to react.
“I think WTA helped us; it helped me feel protected.”
However, the nature of the response to the incident by officials is understood to be linked to other threats Swiatek has also received on social media. According to one analysis by an artificial intelligence-led detection system, 12,000 social media comments and posts targeting players were found to have broken guidelines between January and October 2024. 48% of those abusive comments were from angry gamblers.
“The thing that I heard wasn’t a threat, but I think there were some threats on the Internet,” she continued.
“The WTA helped me react quickly and made me feel secure. I’m happy there is someone overlooking us and helping us to react in these kinds of situations.
“I’m happy that I have my team also around that helps me in these kinds of situations.”
Coping with pressure
Swiatek returns to action later this week at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix where she is seeking her first title of the season. The Pole hasn’t played in a Tour-level final since winning the French Open last year.
As to managing expectations, Swiatek believes the key is to focus on herself during what will be a vital few weeks in terms of defending ranking points. Besides the French Open, she is also defending the title in Madrid and Rome, which are both WTA 1000 events.
“It hasn’t been easy for the past months because after having such great seasons, I’ve been in the spotlight and my every move is kind of judged, the expectations are high,” she said.
“My goal is to focus on myself and focus on the process, on what I want to change on the court.
“For sure, with Wim (her coach) we have many ideas of how I can improve my technique. On the practice court, it has been looking pretty well, so I want to implement that on matches.
“I try to keep myself busy with these things. I’m pretty sure if I am going to work hard, the results also are going to come after that.
“People will say whatever they want to say. You sometimes need to ignore that.”
So far this season, Swiatek has reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open, Doha Open and BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. In the other two events she played in Miami and Dubai, she reached the quarter-final stage.
In Stuttgart, Swiatek has a bye in the first round. Her opening match will be against either qualifier Jana Fett or 2024 Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic. She is bidding to win the tournament for the third time in her career.
