Iga Swiatek was beaten by Coco Gauff in the Cincinnati Masters semi-final, but she didn't storm off the courts, opting to stay and sign autographs.
Generally, you'll see many players be really mad after defeats, storming off the courts as quickly as possible. That's not the case for Swiatek, as she tends to handle defeats graciously. She showed that once more by staying behind and signing autographs following the loss against Gauff at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati.
After the match, Swiatek was asked about handling that stuff graciously, and she admitted that she's not mad after a loss, especially not towards fans who were there and watched the match. Signing a few autographs is no big deal.
Thanks (smiling). I like questions like that. Yeah, I'm telling you that I'm not, like, mad after that match. I thought that I can sign. I'm not going to kill with my sight people around me. They came and watched the match. So, yeah, I could sign a few autographs. No problem for me.
There were plenty of reasons for Swiatek to be mad. A brutal competitor like that doesn't like to lose, but taking the high road is pretty in line with how some of her idols (Rafael Nadal) handle that type of stuff. Despite losing, Swiatek was pretty happy with what she got out of these prep events.
She showed a solid level and battled bravely when things didn't go her way. She pulled out wins when she could have lost, and now it's time for the US Open.
Overall I'm very happy with these three tournaments that I played: Warsaw, Montreal and here. For sure there are things that I want to work on. It's always like that when you lose. But overall today I fought till the end. That's something that I should be kind of proud of.