Hypocrisy accusation

Swiatek? “She can save herself the dishonesty”

Iga Swiatek (left) and Danielle Collins

(Bild: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

A fuss after the handshake at the Olympics! Iga Swiatek reached the semi-finals in Paris because her opponent Danielle Collins had to retire due to injury at 1:4 in the third set. After the match, Collins made nasty accusations against Swiatek: "She can save herself that dishonesty."

As with every match, there is the obligatory handshake at the net after the match. But this time the fans and spectators were probably a little irritated, as Collins had apparently said some supposedly nasty words to Swiatek.

"Don't need any hypocrisy"
At the press conference, there was at least a partial resolution to the curious scene. "I told Iga that she can save herself the dishonesty about my injury," said Collins. "A lot of things happen in front of the camera and there are a lot of people who have a lot of charisma and act one way in front of the camera, but quite differently behind closed doors and in the dressing room."

Collins continued: "I just don't feel like anyone has to be insincere. They can be who they really are. I can accept that, I don't need any pretense."

Swiatek puzzles
She did not reveal what exactly Collins meant. The Polish woman didn't really know what to make of the statements either. "I was never unkind to her. I just wanted to congratulate her on a successful career, because we know it's her last year. Honestly, I don't know what she meant. There was no interaction between us that would have given rise to something like that," says Swiatek.

The fact is, Swiatek will face Kerber's conqueror Zheng Qinwen from China in the semi-finals. In the second semi-final, Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova will face Croatia's Donna Vekić. Collins and Swiatek will no longer be best friends ...