IGA SwiTEK published a statement detailing the impact of her positive doping test On her status at the top of female tennis, saying that she spent “three weeks crying daily”. It was before the weight of her influence on her quest to find classification n ° 1 which affected her behavior on the field and, she said, “struck hard” during the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai, to the United Arab Emirates, where she lost against the possible champion of champion champion Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals.
Swiatek, the world’s n ° 2, discussed its impact in an Instagram publication after its race at Indian Wells last week, where she lost again against Andreeva, this time in the last four. During the match, she struck a bullet in the ground with frustration and in the general direction of a Kid. Subsequent online criticisms prompted Swiatek to write the note of 645 words, in which she spoke of the “constant judgment” she felt.
“When I am very concentrated and I do not show much emotions in the court, my name is a robot, my attitude qualified as inhuman,” she wrote.
“Now that I am more expressive, showing in -house feelings or difficulties, I am suddenly labeled immature or hysterical.”
Addressing directly to the incident, Swiatek wrote: “I see that there have been a lot of recent discussions on changes in my behavior and my emotions on the ground. Although I am not at ease to explain myself, it is time that I share my point of view to stop speculation and baseless theories.
“First of all, on the incident in my last match.
“It’s true – I expressed his frustration in a way of which I am not proud. My intention was never to target the ball to anyone, but simply to release my frustration by making it bounce on the ground. I immediately apologized to the Ball Boy, we established a visual contact and we nodded when I expressed his regret that this happened near him.
“I saw many players bounce back from frustration bullets, and frankly, I did not expect such hard judgments. Usually, I control such pulses, so half as a joking, I can say that I lack experience in this area and I misunderstood my goal in the heat of the moment. »»
Swiatek seemed to be frustrated at various points this season, in which she played exceptional tennis but did not quite go beyond the line in the tournaments, losing against the possible champion (Madison Keys at the Australian Open and Andreeva in Dubai and Indian Wells) on three times. After his defeat at the Dubai Open last month, video sequences showed angry swiatek walking in the field and ignoring the attempt of his coach Wim Fissette to shake his hand.
A week earlier, Swiatek broke his racket during a unilateral defeat against Jelena Ostapenko to the Qatar Open in Doha, an event she had won in each of the previous three years.
In her note on Monday, Swiatek asked that the emotion she had shown recently was placed in an appropriate context – pointing to the toll that the positive doping test last year did him. Swiatek received a provisional suspension in September after having tested positive for a trace concentration of the prohibited substance TRIMETAZIDINE (TMZ). The International Agency for Tennis Integrity (ITIA) finally delivered a one -month ban on it, after judging that the ingestion of TMZ of Swiatek was not intentional.
It accepted her explanation and evidence that she had taken a contaminated dose of melatonin, which she had used to help her sleep to fight against time difference. Swiatek missed three events following the ban, which was not made public at the time. She quoted “personal questions” as a reason to miss the first. The missed events made Swiatek lose its n ° 1 ranking.
In a Interview last month, Swiatek Said that “the most difficult thing was not to know what will happen with me for a while, not having my own fate in my hands. It was a difficult lesson because I am a control monster.
The difficulty of this period bled in 2025, and Swiatek is now unit since the French Open from last year, the amount of unsuccessful defenses in Doha and in the Indian wells in recent weeks. And for a player who has always given enormous importance on the mental side of the game, working in close collaboration with psychologist Daria Abramowicz, SwiTek says that she had trouble with her well-being.
“It’s never easy, and it’s particularly difficult for me right now,” she said about “working on yourself”.
“Sport is not played by robots. I had three incredible seasons, but nothing comes without effort, and there is no guarantee that the results will always be easy or under control. It’s life, and it’s sport. Sometimes, even I forget that.
Because it was considered robotic or too emotional, Swiatek wrote: “It is not a healthy norm – especially since it barely six months ago, I felt that my career was suspended by a thread, spent three weeks crying daily and I did not want to walk on the field. Today, after all that I have experienced, I always treat myself and that I come with these experiences. »»
Other players such as French world n ° 74 Caroline Garcia spoke in the past year damage caused by online criticism, and Swiatek added: “The sharing of this change? Probably not, because I clearly see how much we like to judge, create theories and impose opinions on others.
“But maybe a few people who really want to understand what I will live will understand this. In any case, this external standard is certainly not my standard, and I do not accept my team and I being enlisted in external expectations. »»
Swiatek is the next in action at the Miami Open, which is starting this week.
This article originally appeared in Athletics.
Tennis, female tennis
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