Iga Swiatek makes feelings clear on war of words between Elon Musk and Polish minister

World No.2 Iga Swiatek powered past Karolina Muchova to reach third consecutive Indian Wells quarterfinals.

Iga Swiatek makes feelings clear on war of words between Elon Musk and Polish minister

Elon Musk, Iga Swiatek, Radoslaw Sikorski (Image via X, Wikipedia)

Iga Swiatek breezed past Karolina Muchova 6-1, 6-1 to move into the Indian Wells quarterfinals. Following the match, Swiatek was asked to comment on the spat between Elon Musk and Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski over Starlink satellite, which provides internet services.

Starlink is a subsidiary of Musk-owned SpaceX. The tech billionaire took to X and wrote that Starlink was the “backbone of the Ukrainian army” and that their “entire front line” would collapse if he shut down the system.

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This prompted Sikorski to write that Poland has paid for Ukraine to use Starlink’s services and if Musk turned the system off, the country would search for another network. Musk, in turn, called Sikorski a “small man“. So when Swiatek was asked to comment on the heated exchange between Musk and Sikorski, she said she was not in a position to make any comments because she didn’t have enough knowledge about the subject.

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Honestly, I don’t feel like I’m in the right place to comment on politics. The world we live in is quite complex, and tensions are certainly very high. I’ve spoken out on Ukraine, and everyone knows my point of view. I’ve been playing with the tape for a long time, since the beginning of the war. I don’t feel I can comment because I’m not an expert and I don’t really dig into the subject in depth.

Iga Swiatek said at the press conference

Swiatek, however, is aware of what’s going on. Although this time she chose not to make any remarks, she was very vocal about the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.

Iga Swiatek extends head-to-head record over Karolina Muchova to 4-1

Iga Swiatek, so far, has not faced many difficulties. She won all three matches in straight sets against Caroline Garcia, Dayana Yastremska, and Karolina Muchova without breaking a sweat. Throughout the three matches, she dropped just six games. Following her comprehensive win over Muchova, Swiatek reflected on the win.

Iga Swiatek (3)
Iga Swiatek (Image via X)

I felt I could lead from the start, and I also didn’t make many mistakes. I didn’t want Karo to display her tennis, and I’m happy I managed to prevent it until the end. Sometimes matches can be quite odd. It’s enough for one player not to feel perfect and the other to feel great for the difference to be much bigger than normal.

Iga Swiatek said at the press conference

Swiatek is now 4-1 against the player from the Czech Republic. Swiatek entered the tournament as a defending champion, and is a two-time winner in the tournament, having won her first title in 2022.

She won both 2022 and 2024 Indian Wells with a straight-set win over Maria Sakkari. The five-time Grand Slam champion wants to end the trophy drought as she’s yet to win a WTA title since the 2024 French Open where she lifted the clay-court Major for the fourth time with a straight-set win over Jasmine Paolini.

Iga Swiatek leads 6-1 in head-to-head encounter with Qinwen Zheng

Iga Swiatek’s quarterfinal opponent is 2024 Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng. She leads 6-1 against the Chinese in the head-to-head encounter but the latter registered a win over her the last time they faced each other.

Iga Swiatek, Qinwen Zheng
Iga Swiatek, Qinwen Zheng (Image via X)

En route to the gold medal, Zheng had knocked out Swiatek from the semifinals of the Paris Olympics. Zheng, who is searching for her first title since the 2024 Japan Open, clinched a straight-set win over Marta Kostyuk in the previous round.

This is the first time the eighth seed progressed to a quarterfinal this year. She started her campaign at the Australian Open and was knocked out of the second round. The 22-year-old then lost the Doha and Dubai openers.