A subtle serve of words has sparked a tennis tempest, sending shockwaves through the sport’s inner circle! In the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics, when an injured Danielle Collins screamed, “She didn’t have to be insincere about my injury,” a perplexed Iga Swiatek later responded, “…I have absolutely no idea where her comment came from.” As the to-and-fro of comments went on even after the match, many tennis experts made it clear whose side they were on. Joining the fray, Ben Rothenberg, a tennis journalist, also has a few words to share about the incident.

Collins’ ‘Danimal’ spirit and aggressive play style on the red clay failed to produce a positive result against the 23-year-old Polish player, as she retired in the last set due to her cramps. But their on-court drama overshadowed the result of the match. It started with Collins unintentionally hitting the world No. 1 player in the midsection during the first set, and Swiatek took some time away to heal. Perhaps this was the root of the drama that unfolded.

As the battle went on, the tension began rising as the World No. 1 slowly started to close in on Collins, who was playing her first and probably the last Olympic Games of her career. However, the drama reached its peak when Collins accused Swiatek of being “fake,” after she herself retired from the match owing to dehydration and cramps.

“There’s a lot that happens on camera, and there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma and come out and are one way on camera and another way in the locker room. They can be the way that they are, I can accept that, and I don’t need the fakeness.” This ignited a controversy and Swiatek found herself bewildered at the whole incident and kept guessing what upset Collins. Swiatek is not alone, as Collins’ comments seemed to baffle many players and experts too, leaving them scratching their heads. Among them, Rothenberg has come to the Polish player’s defense.

When Przeglad Sportowy Onet’s reporter said, “To be honest, we in Poland were very surprised by the behavior of Danielle Collins…How did you receive that?” Rothenberg, a journalist himself, revealed the true nature of Swiatek and responded, “I have no idea what Collins meant by Iga’s falseness and insincerity because, for most people in tennis, she’s the last person you could say that about. Świątek is genuine in her emotions. Danielle’s choice of words was odd.”

Rothenberg suggests Collins might have mistaken Swiatek’s intense concentration for insincerity, but the real reason still remains unknown. Owing to which, Ben emphasized, “I’ll definitely ask her about it next time we talk, although I don’t think she’d want to comment on it. If I had to guess, it was more about Iga being, how should I put it… detached during matches.”

While Swiatek openly discussed the incident’s lack of impact on her game, Collins remains unwilling to comment. However, like Rothenberg, Collins’ former coach has also opened up about the controversy.

Danielle Collins’ former coach states the possible reason behind Collins’ Olympics’ act

Danielle Collins’ ex-coach, Jared Jacobs, recently shared his viewpoint, revealing the same confusion about the reason for her outbursts, like many others. To him, it might have stemmed from Collins’ disappointing record (6-1, 2-6, 4-1) during the match. Moreover, it extended their head-to-head tally to 1–7(in Swiatek’s favor), which can be quite demotivating for the Miami Open champion.

“It’s hard for me to say exactly why Danielle was so upset. About the loss? Maybe she was embarrassed to come off the big court in the quarterfinals of the Games with an injury?…From what I know of Danielle, I know that sometimes she can be bothered by completely harmless things, and then she doesn’t think about anything else. Nevertheless, Iga has always been a nice person. She certainly didn’t say anything to Danielle that should have bothered her.”

While Collins might not elaborate on her comments, the tennis community continues to rally around Swiatek. And Rothenberg’s response has sparked a larger discussion about player perceptions and their strange behaviors!