That must have hurt! Iga Swiatek and Danielle Collins were battling it out in the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics singles tournament with everything they had got. For the Polish sensation, this match was about blood, sweat, and toil—quite literally. In a dramatic twist, Swiatek suffered an accident on the court that sent a shockwave through the crowd. 

Iga Swiatek and Danielle Collins were leveled up having won one set each. But as the players advanced to the third set, Iga hurt herself. During the first point of the set, Swiatek took a net approach and hit a straight volley towards Collins. The American responded with a passing shot which eventually hit the Polish sensation in the stomach, leaving her in discomfort. An X user shared the snippets of the incident and wrote, “Shot in the stomach.”

The World No. 1 was seen holding her stomach and was visibly in pain. While Danielle Collins did not delay in approaching her opponent to ask about her well-being, the incident seemed to draw the wrath of the fans. Taking to X, several users shared the video and images of the incident and bashed Collins for allegedly rough gameplay.

“Collins is a dirty player” – Fans lash out at Danielle Collins 

As soon as the footage of the incident went viral, several fans took to X to express their hard sentiments against Danielle Collins. Taking to the platform, one user wrote, “There goes me saying anything remotely positive about Collins. Cannot wait for her to play her last match.” For the unversed, Danielle Collins is playing the last season of her career. She has already made it clear that she will hang up her racquets after this season.

Another fan took to X and wrote, “Collins trying to kill IGA to win how disgusting it is.” Despite Collins’ gesture of approaching her opponent to ask about her well-being, fans believe that the shot was played purposefully. Collins had earlier said that she wished to make her final season memorable and achieve everything she could not so far. “This is my last year, this is my last season, and these are some of my final events. I want to remember these moments.”

“Daniele Collins officially on the blacklist of Poles,” wrote another user. Remember, Iga Swiatek has won four grand slam titles on the clay courts of Roland Garros. With the Olympics taking place at the same venue, she is the hope of her country to win an Olympic medal. But the injury could have troubled her and prevented her from marking an end to her glorious run. More users joined the fray soon.

Responding to the video, one more X user wrote, “Collins is a Dirty Player. She knew the only way to win this Match is with the Heat (weather very hot) or to injury IGA Swiatek. Just a Dirty move.”

Danimal is roaring this season. She has been playing with a fierce attitude taking it strongly against her opponents. Besides, she has also engaged in tussle with the crowd during several tournaments. While these gestures were supported by many, they drew criticism as well. Another fan highlighted that Collins might have been a bit frustrated. “Yeahh.. good play from Iga.. frustrating collins seems to be paying off.”

While Collins lost the match eventually after retiring in the third set due to injury, the critics didn’t sympathize with her, as the angry reactions kept pouring in. As her season progresses, it would be interesting to see if the American star finds herself in more such controversies or bids a peaceful farewell to the sport.