Iga Swiatek opens up on her change of mentality due to the online abuse and trolling she faced following finals loss to Barbora Krejcikova in Dubai 

Iga Swiatek also spoke about the need to have positivity around.

Iga Swiatek opens up on her change of mentality due to the online abuse and trolling she faced following finals loss to Barbora Krejcikova in Dubai 

Iga Swiatek (Image via Inquirer.net)

Iga Swiatek is the top-ranked player in the world and deservingly so. The Polish ace has done well at almost every tournament she has played. However, things always don’t go the way they are intended to and top players also lose a game. The same happened with Swiatek against Barbora Krejcikova at the Dubai Tennis Championships when she lost in straight sets. 

As it is with the fans these days, Swiatek was thrashed left, right, and center on social media. While the 21-year-old never talked about it in the open earlier, Swiatek mentioned it while shooting for a documentary that was released recently in Poland.

YouTube video

Swiatek revealed that when she opened her social media, it was filled with hateful comments and she was taken aback looking at them. The Pole then talked about a change of mentality for her after that incident.

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I went online and there were so many negative comments (after the Dubai loss) regarding me losing the final, that I saw how ridiculous that was and how different it is to how I feel myself, internally. Sometimes it doesn't make any sense to go online as it can really mess with what you feel/think after a tournament.
Iga Swiatek said. (H/T: Zuzanna/X)

Iga Swiatek speaks about the need to have positivity around

The World No.1 then talked about how it is difficult for the players, especially for someone like her to completely cut themselves from social media. Iga Swiatek said that it is one of the basic needs of humans to socialize and she is no exception. The Polish ace talked about the need to have positivity around.

Iga-Swiatek-tennis
Iga Swiatek (Image via Tennis.com)

The tennis ace also reasoned as to why she needs to look at how fans react. Swiatek said that she plays not only for herself but also for the fans and hence there is this curiosity to know what they are saying. However, this particular incident changed her perception and she now tries to avoid using social media a lot.

I know you can say it shouldn't have any influence and we should cut it off but I do realise that I also kinda play for the fans and that we are humans so we want to have positivity around us, people talking and feeling positively about us, as we are "social animals" or idk how to call it. But that's why I don't think you can really fully cut yourself off from that and if you feel like it's causing unpleasantness to you/your life, it's better to avoid it/don't go online too much.
Iga Swiatek further stated.

Notably, Iga Swiatek had to face a similar defeat against Jelena Ostapenko at the 2023 US Open, although in the pre-quarterfinals. However, the Polish ace did not let that affect her too much as Swiatek made a roaring comeback, winning the China Open and the WTA Finals after that. She also finished the season as the top-ranked player for the second consecutive year.

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