“So Rude” – Fans Call out Iga Swiatek for Her Clash With the Chair Umpire Over a Line Call During Roland Garros Match Against Elena Rybakina

Elena Rybakina provided a tough challenge to Iga Swiatek, who made an incredible comeback from a set down to book her berth in the Roland Garros quarterfinals.

“So Rude” – Fans Call out Iga Swiatek for Her Clash With the Chair Umpire Over a Line Call During Roland Garros Match Against Elena Rybakina

Iga Swiatek loses her cool at Roland Garros (via Motorcycle Sports)

Iga Swiatek survived a scare from Elena Rybakina in her fourth-round match at the Roland Garros. The match witnessed several moments of tension and frustration from the Pole before she finally leveled up to show some of her best tennis. A strange incident took place in the third set when the umpire came to check a mark. When Swiatek was at break point 4-4 (15-40), Rybakina’s second serve was called out.

Umpire Kader Nouni came out to check the mark and overrule it. However, the visibly irritated defending champion took out some of her frustration on the umpire, who was merely doing his job. She told Nouni, “I didn’t ask you to check it,” when he came to check the mark.

The fans were on Swiatek’s case following the incident. Here are some of the reactions from the Tennis community:

The ball was called in by a very narrow margin, and Rybakina went on to win the game. Rybakina was then a game away from winning the match, but Swiatek fought back and held serve to level the score 5-5. She then went on to break Rybakina and later sealed the victory 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 in this dramatic match.

Iga Swiatek narrowly escapes being bagelled in the first set

This match pushed Iga Swiatek to her limits. She entered the match without having any wins over her opponent on clay before. Elena Rybakina had a dominant start to the match, winning 5 games in a row. Swiatek struggled badly with her shots and returns throughout the first set. It appeared as if she was about to be bagelled, however, she managed to win one game to take the score to 5-1, before losing the next game to Rybakina.

After cruising past Swiatek in the first set, Rybakina had a strong start to the second set too, as she took a 2-0 lead without conceding a point to Swiatek. Swiatek, however, broke Rybakina soon to take the score to 2-1.

Iga Swiatek Miami Open 2025
Iga Swiatek (Image via X @JJlovesTennis)

The 24-year-old then won the next 4 games in a row. Rybakina managed to win one game, but Swiatek then won the set after the next game. The third set was the most fierce and competitive one, with both players putting up their best performance and winning each alternate game.

Rybakina hit an impressive number of backhand winners, while Iga stunned with her powerful forehand. At 5-5 it was a very close call; however, Swiatek showed great mental resilience to break Rybakina and then shortly win the match.

Iga Swiatek will face Elina Svitolina in the Roland Garros quarterfinals

With this victory, the five-time Grand Slam champion is tied with Monica Seles for the second most consecutive wins at Roland Garros. Iga Swiatek will next face Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals. The Ukrainian made a major upset as she defeated last year’s Roland Garros finalist Jasmine Paolini in the fourth round. This is the fourth time Svitolina has reached the quarterfinals of the tournament.

The Pole has a 3-1 head-to-head record against Svitolina, with one victory on clay. With today’s victory, Swiatek is now tied with Monica Seles for the 2nd longest win streak at Roland Garros by a woman in the Open Era. Swiatek has won 25 consecutive matches in this tournament. The record for the longest streak is held by Chris Evert, who won 29 consecutive wins.

Swiatek is also three match wins away from an unprecedented fourth consecutive Roland Garros title in women’s history in the Open Era. She is on a title drought since last year’s Roland Garros, having not made it to the finals of any tournament since then and having dropped to World No. 5 in rankings.

Also Read: Jack Draper Warns ATP Players of ‘Scary’ Joao Fonseca After Ending His Roland Garros Campaign