The match between Iga Swiatek and Danielle Collins at the 2024 Paris Olympics delivered fireworks, and not all were tennis-related.
The American is a fascinating tennis player who plays her game and doesn't care much about anything else. She's always had a certain fire, which is why she often clashed with players during her matches.
None of that was serious, as it was mostly due to the competitiveness, but she has always been a player who doesn't mind speaking her mind. She was always open about some of her opinions, even the controversial ones because that's just how she is.
Therefore, it won't surprise many that Collins had a few things to say to Swiatek. The Pole is a fair player, but she has some quirks that can be rather annoying for her opponents.
For example, the WTA's World No. 1 lifts her hand to stop play when she needs to 'calm' herself or focus a bit better, and it's usually right before her opponent's serve.
That can be very annoying because it's an unspoken rule that the returner follows the pace of the server. Therefore, if the server is ready to serve then the returner should be ready. Swiatek's hand lift completely disturbs that, and Collins wasn't happy with it during their quarter-final match in the French capital.
When the top seed did it in the third set of their match, she simply told Swiatek that no one was behind her who could possibly disturb her. Another incident during the match was Collins hitting Swiatek with the ball in the stomach.
It wasn't on purpose, of course, but it did hit the Polish player right in the stomach, and play was stopped for a while. Collins went over to her opponent to make sure she was not hurt, but it was a fiery moment regardless.
The handshake after the match was also interesting as they talked briefly, with Swiatek having a very puzzled look on her face afterward. Overall, it was an amazing match that featured a lot of these chippy moments.
Immediately after her match, Collins was questioned about what exactly she said to Swiatek when they shook hands following her retirement from the match, resulting in a puzzled look from the Polish player. Collins, like she always does, was very honest about what she said.
"I told Iga she didn't have to be insincere about, you know, 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."
"And I just haven't had the best experience, and I don't really feel like anybody needs to be insincere. They can be the way that they are. I can accept that, and I don't need the fakeness."
In the end, Swiatek was able to advance to the next round, as the American retired from the match down 1-4 in the final set. Collins made a valiant effort, but it wasn't enough to beat the top favorite, but their competitive match wasn't in the spotlight after all of the incidents.
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