Ons Jabeur has spoken out in support of fellow WTA player Iga Swiatek after the world number one revealed she received a wave of hate messages whilst competing at the Cincinnati Masters.
Swiatek was given an early scare in her round of 16 match against Chinese player Qinwen Zheng when she lost the first set 6-3. Eventually, Swiatek battled back to win in three sets, but the 22-year-old explained in her post-match press conference that several people had sent her hate messages because she dropped a set.
In response, Swiatek called for people to be more kind and respectful of tennis players and Jabeur was also quick to back the world number one. Speaking to reporters after her walkover against Donna Vekic, Jabeur said negative responses are part of the game, but she also sympathised with Swiatek.
"Yeah, we do. I mean, I'm glad that Iga is talking about it. Honestly, I mean, you win, you lose, you get hate messages no matter what you do."
"I mean, I know why she did bring it up. It's not like it's affecting her, maybe a little bit, but I understand we need more humanity, more nicer people in this earth, but I don't think you can change the mentality of some betters. They have nothing to do in their life, and they are just spending money on you, and probably, what, they lost a couple of bucks on Iga losing a set."
However, despite acknowledging some of the negativity, Jabeur also responded with an upbeat message. The Tunisian player gave some advice to Swiatek about dropping sets and said remaining positive and thinking forward is the best remedy.
"It is frustrating, but it's the reality. I believe these people should not exist, but yeah, next time, Iga, don't lose a set."
"But, yeah, I know Iga. She's strong, and those people are horrible and there is horrible people in this planet. What we do? We move on, and they get criticized in media conference like this and we move on."
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