Iga Swiatek hits back at vile trolls as Wimbledon champion suffers abuse
Iga Swiatek has been the target of online abuse in recent days after her China Open loss to Emma Navarro, with the Polish star sharing a number of the offensive messages she received
Iga Swiatek has fired back after being hit with a wave of vicious online abuse following her China Open defeat.
The tennis tournament's top seed in Beijing was stunned 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 by Emma Navarro, who is set to inherit billions of dollars, in the round of 16, marking her maiden loss at the event, having claimed the crown during her sole previous appearance in 2023.
Wimbledon champion Swiatek, who snapped back at a reporter's question during this year's US Open, subsequently opened up about the harsh reality facing athletes today, posting screenshots of the disgusting messages she received on social media as keyboard warriors labeled her "pathetic" and "mediocre."
It's sadly a recurring pattern for tennis stars, with players like Jessica Pegula and Katie Boulter also confronting social media harassment in recent months.
The Polish sensation had arrived at the China Open brimming with confidence after capturing the title in Korea last month and cruised into the round of 16 before being derailed by No. 16 seed Navarro.
It proved to be a nightmare outing for Swiatek, who racked up 70 unforced errors and honestly acknowledged she "just played bad."
However, Swiatek was bombarded with hateful online messages after exiting sooner than many anticipated, prompting her to address the trolls via her Instagram story.
One message stated: "You have no discipline, no talent, no ability to make adjustments, no room to play a different style, no metal (mental) strength... It's honestly shocking."
Additional comments hurled insults at Swiatek or included offensive emojis.
"Nowadays, this is a sad part of our reality in sports. Bots, betting, but also 'fans,'" Swiatek wrote. "It is worth considering, especially since World Mental Health Day is just a few days away."
Swiatek has been vocal about the online harassment players endure, previously urging tennis authorities to step up and give athletes resources to fight back against internet trolls. Roland Garros had previously offered AI technology to screen out such toxic comments.
"Maybe in the future, have some solutions, such as using AI to make it safer for us. I feel like we can't be on the internet and feel safe anymore," the former world No. 1 said last summer. "You have to really be careful on what you're reading, who you're following. I know that there are some tools that, for example, Roland Garros offered for us.
"This app that we can have on the phone, and it's going to block the hateful messages. It's also going to learn with you when you're going to tag some messages as hateful. ... It would be nice if we had more opportunities to use these kind of tools."
Sadly, Swiatek isn't the only tennis player being targeted with vicious and abusive messages. Following her French Open exit this year, world No. 7 Pegula revealed the toxic comments had become "normalized."
She added: "This stuff has never really bothered me much, but does any other sport deal with this to our level? I'd love to know because it seems to be predominantly tennis? It's so disturbing."
Meanwhile, British star Boulter recently spoke out about the shocking death threats she's received, telling the BBC that one online troll wrote: "Hope you get cancer."