Iga Swiatek Responds To Olympic Rival's Blunt Accusation

Iga Swiatek of Poland advanced to the semifinal portion of the women's singles tennis tournament in the 2024 Paris Olympics after her quarterfinal opponent, American Danielle Collins, retired during the third set due to a stomach injury.

After her retirement, Collins and Swiatek appeared to have a heated moment on the court. Collins later shed light on what happened, saying that she didn't like how Swiatek was being dishonest about her true feelings on the American's injury.

“There’s a lot that happens on camera. And there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma ... (who) are one way on camera and another way in the locker room,” said Collins, a 30-year-old American who has announced she will retire after this season, via Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press . “I don’t need the fakeness.”

Swiatek was asked about her thoughts on Collins' comment and seemed perplexed by the accusation

“Honestly, I don't know what she meant, because we didn't even have any interactions that could have caused her to say that to me,” said Swiatek, per Poland’s Interia (h/t Tennis.com ).

In any case, Swiatek will have to keep her focus as she is scheduled to face Qinwen Zheng of China in the semis.

Zheng has been on a roll in the tournament, having defeated 11-seed Emma Navarro in the third round and former world no. 1 and three-time Grand Slam singles champion Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals.

Swiatek, however, is favored to win against Zheng. After all, she is the current top-ranked player in the world and the no. 1 seed in Paris.

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