More should be discussed about Iga’s on-court behavior, her blatant disabilities make it difficult to warm up to her success: tennis fans criticize Iga Swiatek for controversial racket change in the US Open final

Iga Swiatek defeated Ons Jabeur in the 2022 US Open final to claim her first title at the tournament and her third Grand Slam title overall, but not before embroiled in controversy.

After the Pole won the first set 6-2, the Pole also cornered Jabeur in the second set, the score being 6-5, 40-30 in her favor after her opponent’s serve. The Tunisian struggled to save a match point and was about to serve when Swiatek stormed off the pitch to get a new racquet.

Nothing came of the swap as the world No. 5 won the point without a fuss and then held at love to level the set 6-6 and put it in the tiebreak. However, the Pole’s decision to change her racquet at such a big moment didn’t sit well with fans on social media.

Many saw this as a glaring impediment from Swiatek’s side, an unsportsmanlike attempt to break Jabeur’s momentum. At the start of the game, fans had already complained that the 21-year-old was constantly lifting her racquet to save Jabeur’s serve.

All of this combined earned the three-time Grand Slam winner unwanted notoriety from users on Twitter, who argued that if she wanted to become a fan favorite, she needed to improve her behavior on the pitch. A fan wrote:

“I think there should be a little more discussion about Iga Swiatek’s behavior on the pitch in general. I don’t think she’s particularly athletic and her racquet tapping, arm waving, etc. are obvious hindrances. Makes it harder to warm to her success despite her incredible talent.”

Another fan, meanwhile, opined that it wasn’t as significant a moment in the game as others pointed out, noting that she hardly took any extra time and that she should be allowed to change her racquet if she felt like it would be better for her.

“This is so over the top, it didn’t take her any longer than when she goes to the towel.”

Here are some more reactions from fans:

“I honestly didn’t see her changing her racquet, I was more focused on myself” – Ons Jabeur on Iga Swiatek’s controversial moment

However, Ons Jabeur touched on the moment during her press conference, explaining that she was not at all hampered by Iga Swiatek rushing to change her racquet and that she was more focused on herself.

“Changing her racquet, I honestly didn’t see her changing her racquet. Maybe she was struggling with the balls. I don’t see her struggling much to be honest. She won the Grand Slam (smiling). Maybe she’ll fight back not to change balls now,” Jabeur said. “I honestly haven’t seen it. I focused more on myself. I was really happy about that [Iga Swiatek] missed that backhand.”