Iga Swaatek, a top-ranked tennis player for women, has called out online trolls.
Swiatek, who won the Western and Southern Open’s fourth round against Zheng Qinwen on Thursday in Cincinnati, revealed that she and her team received a lot of hate online despite her victory.
We all knew that today’s match was not perfect. “But the amount of hatred and criticism my team and I received after losing even a single set is ridiculous,” she said. “I would like to encourage people to think more carefully before they post comments on the Internet.”
The 22-year-old world No. 1 even pleaded with members of the media to “help us make it happen.”
“We have all made a lot of sacrifices and worked really hard to get here.” She added, “We always give 100% of our abilities every day.”
It’s sad to see how people judge me and my colleagues. I’d like to encourage everyone to think more carefully and focus on the positive aspects of our work. Today, even though my team and I did not start the match very well, I want people to know how I solved problems and got out of trouble.
Swiatek has never made it to the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati tournament. She lost her first set but recovered to win the match 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
“I am working hard – both physically and mentally.” Off-court, I try to be the best player and person possible. I wanted to encourage the people of the internet to think positively and to see a positive side of what we are doing.”
Swiatek, who defeated the 10th-seeded Marketa Vondrousova on Friday in straight sets and will now face the No. 7 seed Coco Gauff.
