When it comes to tennis, Polish WTA star Iga Swiatek proudly promotes her no-nonsense policy. After an incredible performance on Rome’s clay surface, Swiatek drops her opinion about some people’s unacceptable behaviors during the tour. While this Pole believes “the best way is to increase security”, she surprisingly leaves her faith in WTA to manage the crisis.

Iga Swiatek defeated Madison Keys by 6-1 and 6-3 yesterday in the Italian Open’s quarterfinals. Post-victory, Swiatek was asked about her feelings since protests during the tour have left athletes with serious safety concerns. “What do you think of the protests that disrupted play yesterday? Now that these are becoming more frequent happenings on tour, is that something that impacts how you feel about your safety on court, if you feel there’s something the tournaments should be doing?” asked the interviewer.

In her response, Swiatek said that she believes “the best way is to increase security.” However, Swiatek also confirmed about her lack of knowledge about this process since she has never encountered a situation on the court. This Polish WTA star also mentioned not seeing any protest yesterday. “ I heard that there’s something going on. I didn’t see it. I don’t know if they were actually close to players or not “ she said.

Swiatek, known to maintain her calm pace, further confirmed that “there aren’t many thoughts” about this crisis. Saying that “People want attention”, this world’s number one tennis star further revealed that all these protests according to her are for gaining attention since she thinks “That’s how our world works right now.”

Here the interviewer and Swiatek are referring to the protestors from  “The Last Generation” climate movement, who demanded “repair funds” to control the climate disasters and gathered at Grandstand to discuss their proposals about the demand. These protestors either glued themselves to the chair or threw confetti at the clay court delaying the matches for more than an hour. Madison Keys’s match against Sorana Cirstea was delayed for an hour because of such protests.

Speaking into the topic, this talented tennis star further recalled the incident of Monica Seles, when she was stabbed in 1993 by a German fan who wished to see his icon Steffi Graf on the number-one rank by injuring Seles. However, she later focused on keeping faith in WTA as Swiatek believed “The only thing you need to do is to trust that, if the situation happens, WTA will be ready with their security to react. That’s all.” 

Iga Swiatek’s comments express that despite not encountering such difficult moments on the court, she is still concerned about players’ safety. As she votes for WTA’s security system, fans expect the committee not to disappoint the Pole and tighten the security systems for players. Till then, they are eagerly waiting for Swiatek’s semifinal challenge against Coco Gauff on the 17th of May.

Iga Swiatek prepares to fight against Coco Gauff on Rome’s clay court this season

After a brilliant victory over Madison Keys, Swiatek gears up to face one of the most powerful competitors on the court, Coco Gauff. These two power capsules of tennis met each other ten times on the court. However, the Polish WTA number-one snatched her victory over Gauff on nine occasions. Before facing off against each other in Rome, Swiatek played against Gauff in the WTA finals round-robin last year. Here also, Swiatek claimed a 6-0 and 7-5 victory over the American. Now that they are set to play semifinals in Rome, fans are excited to see whether Swiatek becomes indomitable to Gauff again.

Iga Swiatek’s take on protests during the Italian Open represents the fear and the sense of insecurity among players before they attend any prestigious tour and get so close to their fans. At the same time, Swiatek’s statements reveal the faith they have in the WTA committee about their protection.