Famous Novak Djokovic fan arrested in Miami Open for reportedly stalking Iga Swiatek during practice sessions at the Miami Open
Iga Swiatek was the victim of an unsavory incident ahead of her match against Elina Svitolina at the Miami Open.
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Iga Swiatek (image via X @JJlovesTennis)
World No. 2 Iga Swiatek was recently harassed during practice sessions at the Miami Open ahead of her Round of 16 match against Elina Svitolina. The 23-year-old was subjected to constant shouting from a man who interrupted her session with personal insults.
The man hiding on platform X under the pseudonym “DzonnyBravo” is an over 40-year-old Pole living in Florida. He has long been known as a vulgar man blinded by an obsessive hatred for Iga Swiatek and her fans.
The man could be seen hurling abuses at Swiatek from the side of the court in Polish. His comments centered around Swiatek’s relationship with her mother and her psychologist, Daria Abramowicz. Swiatek has lived with her father mostly since her parents’ divorce, maintaining her distance from her mother. Meanwhile, her psychologist is also constantly under fire in the media for her troubled relationship with Swiatek.
Safety is our top priority. We monitor the network to catch these types of issues. Constructive criticism is one thing, but threats, hate speech or simply disrupting training is another – this cannot be tolerated. We reported the matter to the tournament organizer, as well as the WTA, who responded immediately and took additional precautions, such as extra security, for which we are very grateful. Ensuring the safety of the players is paramount, they are the ones at the center of the action and our job is to protect them.
Iga Swiatek’s PR team stated (H/T: Sports Super Express Poland)
The stalker then uploaded recordings in which he can be heard harassing Swiatek and Abramowicz during training – “Hey Iga, call your mom. Hey Iga, when will you make up with your mother? Daria runs with water, like a trained dog”. The voice of the man whose account on the X platform was deleted the next day can be heard in the videos.
The tournament organization and the WTA promptly took action. Daria Sulgostowska, PR Manager for Swiatek, issued a statement on the situation outlining how they and the WTA have dealt with the affair. Amongst the measures taken, Swiatek received additional security during her match against Svitolina.
Several young female tennis players are recent victims of harassment and hate speech
This harassment incident comes in the light of the recent stalking episode Emma Raducanu faced at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The 22-year-old paused her Round of 32 match against Karolina Muchova and broke down to tears when she identified a longtime stalker in the crowd. The man had to be escorted out of the venue for the match to continue and was subsequently banned from all future WTA events.
Harassment is becoming an increasingly frequent issue among young female players. Numerous cases of hate messages have been regularly reported by several players—the most recent being that of 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva receiving hate comments online after losing to Amanda Anisimova in the third round of the Miami Open.
Iga Swiatek earned a straight-set win over Elina Svitolina after a tough first set
Despite the harrowing incident, Iga Swiatek aced her Round of 16 match against Elina Svitolina with confidence, defeating the Ukrainian in straight sets. As the clock passed midnight, Swiatek smiled cheekily as she penned to the camera lens, ‘Time to go to sleep’. Despite a tiebreak in the first set, Swiatek closed out the second set with a breadstick.
This hard-fought victory put her in the quarterfinal, where she will face Alexandra Eala. The 19-year-old has been making waves in Miami, having defeated two Grand Slam champions back-to-back to reach the quarterfinals, defeating Jelena Ostapenko in the Round of 64 and Madison Keys in the Round of 32. She has reached the quarterfinals of the tournament without dropping a set en route.
What is most interesting about this lineup is the fact that Swiatek was a guest at Eala’s high school graduation last year, marking a full-circle moment for the Filipino. Ascending to a career high ranking of 117 following her impressive performance in Miami so far, Eala has also become the highest-ranked Filipino singles player in WTA history.
Swiatek defeated Caroline Garcia 6-2, 7-5, and 27th seed Elise Mertens 7-6(2), 6-1 in the second and third rounds of the Miami Open, respectively. Swiatek is aiming for a second Miami Open title and her first title of the season.
She won this event in 2022 to complete the Sunshine Double. The only other women to complete the Sunshine Double are Steffi Graf, who accomplished this feat twice, Kim Clijsters, and Victoria Azarenka.
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