
Despite winning her Olympic quarter-final, the good news stopped there as five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek was dealt a blow to her body mid-rally while also the subject of criticism directed by Danielle Collins.
Having announced earlier in the year that 2024 would be her farewell season, Collins picked up an injury that forced her to retire down 6-2, 1-6, 4-1 in unfortunate scenes.
The 30-year-old, renowned for speaking her mind, told reporters after the match that she was not impressed with tournament officials, essentially blaming them for sustaining a pulled muscle in her stomach due to "not having adequate water on court" where she suffered heat-stroke against Colombia's Camila Osorio in the previous round.
She wasn't the only player to experience pain in her stomach, unintentionally causing Swiatek to tumble in the middle of the net with little time to move out of the way of a venomous backhand from Collins. As she was being treated, the American made her way to the bench and checked on her opponent.
Later in the match, tensions escalated during a particular point, when Swiatek raised her racquet above her head, not ready to return serve - much to Collins' frustration.
“There’s, like, no one behind me,” Collins muttered in the direction of Swiatek. “Play at the server’s pace.”
When the match ended, the former Virginia college alumni walked around the net post, shook Swiatek's hand, and made her feelings known before storming off - not providing a chance for her opponent to process what had occurred.
The world No.1 was asked about the altercation afterwards and responded, “I think it’s better to ask her. I would rather not get into these because that’s her last year on tour. I haven’t had a chance actually to tell her that, you know, she had a great journey and she really played well. So, I want to give her all the respect possible.”
Collins, a former Grand Slam runner-up at the 2022 Australian Open, did not mince her words when asked a similar question post-game. “I told Iga she didn’t have to be insincere about my injury. I haven’t had the best experience, and I don’t really feel like anybody needs to be insincere. They can be the way that they are, and I can accept that, and I don’t need the fakeness.”
Drama and high tension also headlined another American in action on Tuesday, when the in-form Emma Navarro lashed out at world No.7 Qinwen Zheng following a frosty scrap at the net.
Asked what she said to begin her press conference, Navarro replied, "I just told her I didn't respect her as a competitor."
“I think she [Zheng] goes about things in a pretty cutthroat way," Navarro continued after her three-set defeat. "It makes for a locker room that doesn’t have a lot of camaraderie, so it’s tough to face an opponent like that, who I really don’t respect.”
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