Without the slightest hesitation, but with a slight scratch on her reputation as a trouble-free and fair player, world number one Iga Šwiateková reached the second week of the Grand Slam US Open. In her third round match, the Polish tennis player drew attention with her antics that was met with criticism.
Proland Garros won twice. She reached the semi-finals in Australia. However, the current Queen of Women’s Tennis has yet to break at Wimbledon and the US Open, and her maximum is only the fourth round in each of the four Grand Slams.
But now it looks like the 21-year-old Polish woman in New York is starting to catch up.
She handled the first three rounds with confidence, dropping no set and handling her first appearance at Arthur Ashe Stadium excellently, defeating 2017 Champion Sloane Stephens in the second round by a class difference.
She beat another local tennis player, Lauren Davis, in a Saturday duel 6:3, 6:4. But in the second set, she had to make up for the loss and during one exchange at the net, she jumped hard before her opponent was injured, stretching and frantically waving her arms.
What initially seemed to be just a fun gameplay feature soon began to be discussed in greater depth among fans on social media and tennis experts alike.
Shvytkova was accused of unsportsmanlike behaviour. According to a number of responses, it was a simple attempt to annoy Davis while the American got a winning shot on the racket.
Although Šwiateková turned him on, despite the movement’s outlandish creations, Bulka’s criticisms still flowed through the networks, and even came from her fan camp.
One of the responses read “Of course I like Iga, but that got me a little bit farther. She shouldn’t go on with that.”
Even Eurosport experts John McEnroe and Barbara Chet didn’t like this moment.
The former American champ said, “I don’t know, I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s legal. It looks like a thong to me.”
“I don’t think she needs something like that. But she’s good and she’ll learn, she’s only twenty-one,” McEnroe didn’t want to make a big deal about the controversial moment.
Schett agreed. She noted, “It’s a bit on the edge. I remember Jo-Wilfried Tsonga doing it, but it’s about trying to disrupt the opponent during the match.”
Šwiateková will face a challenge in the Round of 16 on Monday in the form of 23-year-old German Julia Niemeierová, one of the discoveries of the current season.
The top player in the US Open’s main competition is ranked 108th, but she should have been much higher a long time ago. At Wimbledon I surprised to get into the top eight. However, in London, after the organizers decided to exclude Russian and Belarusian tennis players from the match, points were not awarded.
