“Don’t think of giving a French male player a bigger cake,” Iga Swiatek’s birthday cake by French Open has Tennis Twitter triggered over bias

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek turns 22 today. The party is happening at possibly one of Swiatek’s favorite places as she is currently in Paris for the 2023 French Open. A two-time winner and the defending champ in singles this year, the Pole is looking to add a third title to her cabinet at the end of this fortnight.

Party for Swiatek began a day before her birthday as she started her Roland Garros campaign. Up against Spaniard Cristina Bucsa, she won the match 6-4, 6-0. The second set bagel meant the Pole had now dished out a bagel in every first-round match at Roland Garros in her career. With the world number 1 rank on the line, it was a good start for the Pole.

Birthday celebrations on Tour have lately become a topic of much debate. It all started at the Madrid Open when fans compared and called out the organizers. Local hero Carlos Alcaraz was presented with a much bigger sized cake as compared to reigning Australian Open champ Aryna Sabalenka. Many including Victoria Azarenka called it sexism on the part of organizers while fans expressed frustration on social media.

Luckily for Swiatek, the cake was big enough for her stature on the Tour. Tournament director and French tennis hero Amelie Mauresmo was also present for the celebrations as Swiatek was also handed two separate bags of gifts along with the cake.

Continue Reading: French sports minister denounces Novak Djokovic for his comment on Kosovo at the French Open

Iga Swiatek’s cake yet again rages debate among fans

While Iga Swiatek was happy with the cake size unlike Aryna Sabalenka in Madrid, fans had a different take. With fans known to not be much forgiving, they once again came out with humourous takes on the situation taunting the organizers for their partiality between players.

Swiatek is quite active on her Twitter account but would prefer not to get involved in this banter. Although Andy Murray did tease Feliciano Lopez and his team in Madrid, don’t expect a similar reaction from the Pole. As far as the tournament goes, Swiatek will now take on American Claire Liu in the second-round match.

Liu also comes into the match on the back of a straight-set win over Swiss player Ylena In-Albon. As far as head-to-head goes, Swiatek leads 1-0 in main-draw matches while leading 2-0 if qualifiers are also counted. With a lot at stake over this fortnight for Swiatek, expect her to try to race to a win tomorrow to build her momentum.

In case you missed it:

• Novak Djokovic accused of spreading ‘Serbian nationalists propaganda’ as Kosovan Olympic Committee demand action from IOC and ITF
• Iga Swiatek compared to Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters by John McEnroe who picks the Pole as French Open favorite

Stay Updated!

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW