Iga Swiatek was put in an awkward position of having to talk about Alexander Zverev's domestic violence charges as she concluded that the ATP promotion of players with such charges is 'not good.'
Iga Swiatek was minding her own business at the Australian Open press conference after her first-round match at the event. She played a pretty good match to overcome former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 7-6(2) 6-2 in round one of the event.
After the match, Swiatek stepped up for the press conference, and it was going pretty well until a reporter decided to ask a question that had nothing to do with her. He asked her about the news of Zverev having a case opened against him for domestic violence in Germany.
Swiatek was visibly taken aback by the question but tried her best to give a diplomatic answer that took into account both the serious nature of the charges against Zverev while also recognizing that, ultimately, it's up to the ATP.
"Well, any answer that I give, I mean, there's no good answer to that. I think it's up to ATP what they decide. For sure it's not good when a player who's facing charges like that is kind of being promoted. I don't know what the result of the investigation or the case is going to be.ô
Pretty much most players have been asked about Zverev's allegations with most of them refusing to respond to the question. It's a tough subject for any players to talk about because, as Swiatek said, there are really no good answers there.
"I'm also not sure what's the history in terms of the other cases that he had. I don't know if he won or lost. I guess you have to ask ATP what they want to do with that 'cause I'm not in the right position to judge."