Iga Swiatek acknowledged that she frequently hears remarks like “Swiatek is done” and “her career is over,” and she believes that there are disparities in how people view men and women who display emotion. Although Swiatek, 22, is regarded as the top player in women’s tennis, she frequently loses her emotional composure on the court.
When Swiatek’s emotions overcame her during a 2021 WTA Finals match against Maria Sakkari, she began to cry on the court. Swiatek sobbed after losing to Jessica Pegula at the United Cup earlier this year.
After the match, Swiatek faced backlash for breaking down in tears. Swiatek once acknowledged that she felt “ashamed” to cry in front of the court because she believed that’s not
Swiatek: When women express emotion, they face harsher criticism.
“I get asked a lot by journalists about the Guadalajara WTA Finals in 2021.
When your feelings stop you from playing or giving your best tennis performance, that’s not good. Like in life, we all strive to be better than the tennis player across the net, but crises inevitably arise. People occasionally fail to recognize that a player has the right to feel emotions as well.
Athletes find it much more difficult to forgive them. That’s the reason I felt guilty about Guadalajara. I think that we shouldn’t be like rocks in the modern world. I would be warping the truth if I pretended to be unbreakable. I would rather display my true face.
Women face harsher criticism, as though we are emotionally incapable of feeling anything at all.