Iga Swiatek’s supremacy on-court has undergone a huge surge this year! Winning back-to-back titles (3) on clay court this season, the World No. 1 is on fire with her dominance on-court. Therefore, she has not only showcased her exceptional performance but has also won the hearts of her fans along the way. However, Caitlin Thompson, owner of Racquet Magazine, has a different opinion in this regard. Explaining why “great stats” can’t lure her to like Swiatek’s matches, Thompson shared her unique perspective on the matter.

On June 12, Racquet’s Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast released an episode, titled “Wrong Opinions,” featuring Caitlin Thompson. Along with the host of the show, Rennae Stubbs, Thompson discussed the upcoming Olympics and the French Open tournament. While talking about Iga Swiatek, the former coach of Serena Williams, Stubbs asked her, “You’re not really an Iga fan. It’s because of x and because of y, and I wanna know why.”

Thompson, who stated that she doesn’t find Iga Swiatek’s matches to be “interesting,” had a straightforward answer or better “difference of opinions”. “But why does this person doesn’t find her entertaining? Are you going to convince this person to find her entertaining by telling her or him all these great stats? Is that going to change how watching Iga makes them feel emotionally?” Taking the example of ice creams, where different people like different types of flavors, Caitlin Thompson further emphasized her opinion on the matter. 

According to her, if she is presented with arguments like: “She is going to win all these grand slams. She is going to be a beacon of perfect footwork and incredible RPMs on the forehand. She has improved her serve. She’s gotten 10 Miles More on it,” her thought process will not change. “I can sit here and look at all the stats and be really impressed. But I won’t be moved because the truth is she’s chocolate and I like vanilla. And that’s it,” she concluded.

This is not the first time that she has commented on the five time Grand Slam champion. Last year, Thompson also compared her to her favorite player, Justine Hennin, a Belgian former tennis pro who remained at the top of tennis (World No. 1) for 117 weeks (4 weeks more than the Polish tennis star). She said, “Justine Henin was my favorite player of all time. The difference is that Henin was fun to watch and I don’t think Iga is that fun to watch. She’s okay.”

Her bold statements about the 22-time singles title winner, Swiatek, have always raised eyebrows in the tennis world. However, even after that, Caitlin has not backed down from vocalizing her thoughts on the four-time French Open champion. A similar scenario unfolded last month as well.

Caitlin Thompson reveals her dislike over Iga Swiatek’s multiple on-court victories against Aryna Sabalenka

The recent matchups between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have allured many sports fans to turn their gaze to tennis. After all, Sabalenka, with her aggressive style, and Swiatek, with her comparatively calm demeanor on-court, make for an amazing clash to watch for the fans. However, the Polish star has extended her lead over the Belarusian player to 8-3 this season and won the hearts of her fans. But Caitlin Thompson has a different outlook on the matter.

After appearing in one of the episodes of Racquet’s Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, Thompson said, “I love the fact that we have this great rivalry. It’s fire and ice. I get it. I just don’t like the ice winning more than the fire because the fire is so fun.” Although Caitlin Thompson’s thoughts might differ in this case, one thing is certain.

Loved or not, Iga Swiatek will not stop from producing her ‘A’ game on-court anytime soon.