“…I don’t need the fakeness,” Danielle Collins said to Iga Swiatek after losing a quarterfinal clash against her at the Paris Olympics. The drama surrounding the match overshadowed Swiatek’s eventual 6-1, 2-6, 4-1 victory. While it was their eighth encounter on-court, it seemed that Collins, who previously lost six times against the Pole, was not happy about Swiatek’s behavior regarding her illness during the match. And after almost two weeks, the World No. 1 player has finally opened up about her take on the matter.

Swiatek’s unexpected exit from the semifinals at the Paris Olympics was a shock to all of us. The five-time Grand Slam champion, who has won four times on the red clay of Roland Garros (during the French Open), could not defeat Qinwen Zheng in the semis. Pretty strange, right? In an interview with SportoweFakty, a reporter hinted at the same thing. “Did the commotion after the match with Danielle Collins affect your performance against Qinwen Zheng later on?”

Swiatek firmly responded, “I am a professional, and such things have no effect on how I play tennis later on. However, to this day I have absolutely no idea where her comment came from and I decided that there was no point in getting into it. I focused only on myself.” 

The bad blood between the duo started quite early on in the match, wherein Collins’ shot mistakenly hit Swiatek in the midsection. This resulted in Swiatek taking some time to lie down on the red clay. However, it further intensified as the match went on, and Swiatek halted the game, citing crowd interference as the reason. This did not sit right with the World No. 8, who was apparently spotted cussing at her opponent. “There’s like no one behind me. Play at the servers pace,” Collis howled at the 23-year-old player. 

The rest of the match heated up even more, and as Collins’ frustration rose, her control over the game dropped. By the final set, she knew that her dream of playing in the Olympics was soon going to shatter. During this crucial time, the American player lashed out at the Olympic organizers for not providing water during the game. And as she experienced cramps due to dehydration, the Miami Open champion retired from the match altogether. 

It did not end here, as Collins later on had some strong words to say against her opponent, “I told Iga she didn’t have to be insincere about my injury… 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.”

Collins’ comments not only came as a shock to the fans, but they also baffled Swiatek as well. Although she did not let the whole scenario affect her play, she couldn’t crack the enigma regarding the reason for Collins’ statements and expressed her reaction after the match.

Swiatek claims to not “know what the whole situation was about” with Collins

Collins’ disappointment at her game heightened after the match. Not being able to perform her best in her first and last Olympic campaign is indeed a matter of regret for the American player. While Collins was figuring out her next step, Swiatek remained in the same spot, trying to figure out the reason behind Collins’ anger after the match. 

“I don’t know if the break lasting so long could have given my rival a cause, I won’t speculate here. But in general, usually at tournaments, when we go out and have time to change clothes, we are entitled to 5 minutes,” she said, guessing if her break during the match was the reason behind Collins’ frustration. She further added, “I honestly didn’t know how much time had passed, but I didn’t do anything against the rules, so I don’t really know what the whole situation was about.”

Nevertheless, both players have moved on since then. Swiatek is now focusing on making a massive comeback at the Cincinnati Masters. But will this unresolved anger between the duo seep in into their next encounter? Only time will tell!