Not everything is going the way of Iga Swiatek at the moment. Entering the Paris Olympics on the back of winning the French Open title earlier this year, Swiatek was expected to go right to the distance at the same venue. However, yesterday, she suffered a shocking loss against Qinwen Zheng of China in the semifinals. What’s more, she even had an argument with the chair umpire over a decision that didn’t go in her favor, due to which she was strongly criticized. However, Swiatek got a sigh of relief after an ATP pro came to her rescue.

In what was a close second set against Zheng, the Chinese star closed the match with a huge serve which Swiatek wasn’t able to get in play. As Zheng collapsed on the court in celebration, Swiatek called on the chair umpire to check if the ball had actually landed in. Subsequently, the chair umpire, Miriam Bley, confirmed that the ball had hit the line and it was curtains for Swiatek.

With the Olympics being her biggest aim this year, Swiatek was left in tears after the match. When Zheng approached the umpire for a handshake after the match, Swiatek walked past her and ignored the umpire, which caused a massive debate on social media. Following this incident, Swiatek even abandoned the interview as the pain of the loss was difficult to bear.

Karue Sell, a former top 400 ATP star, took to his Twitter handle to defend Swiatek over this controversy. “What’s this crazy iga hate? All these mo**ns saying things like “unsportsmanlike behavior”.. Like what do you know about being out there battling? F**k off. Go try to be great at something. See what happens. And off court, she the nicest!,” the ATP Pro wrote.

However, this wasn’t the only controversy that Swiatek sparked at the Paris Olympics. Earlier in her quarterfinal match, she raised eyebrows with her actions.

Swiatek remains unfazed after facing wrath for her actions

The Pole went on to defeat Danielle Collins in a steamy battle that saw high-voltage drama unfold. During one of the rallies, Collins hit a return straight at Swiatek’s body while she was at the net. Although she managed to dodge the ball, Swiatek took her own time to get back to her feet. Subsequently, when Collins took an injury timeout, Swiatek delayed things further which left Collins frustrated in what was her final Olympic Games. The two even exchanged some words in a high-voltage encounter.

However, Swiatek later issued a clarification on her actions, saying, “I’ve never done anything nasty to her. I rather wanted to congratulate her on her successful career, because we all know that this is her last year on tour, Honestly, I don’t know what she meant, because we didn’t even have any interactions that could have caused her to say that to me.”

Swiatek went on to win that match after Collins withdrew midway into the third set. Despite Swiatek going down in the semifinal, she achieved a podium finish after winning the bronze-medal playoff match against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. However, the question remains, will Swiatek be satisfied with a bronze medal?