Iga Swiatek Brushes Off Danielle Collins’ “Fakeness” Accusation at The Paris Olympics 2024

Although the microphones did not record their on-court conversation, it was evident how stunned the Pole was by her opponent’s remarks.

This week in Paris, it looks like Olympic fever has officially erupted. Following their closely contested quarterfinal, Danielle Collins had some words for her opponent, Iga Swiatek, one day after Zheng Qinwen and Emma Navarro’s heated post-match exchange.

Collins, the final American standing in women’s singles, faced up against the top-ranked player in the world in a match that went the full distance and had many stressful moments.

The ninth-ranked player in the world objected to the Pole’s brisk style of play, especially after Swiatek lost the second set and took a nine-minute toilet break. Later, after the top seed held her racquet up to stop Collins before her serve, she instructed Swiatek to “play at the server’s pace.”

And in the most dramatic moment, in the opening game of the third set, Swiatek was hit in the abdomen by a Collins swing volley and “couldn’t breathe for a few seconds.” Swiatek was clutching her stomach when the American approached her side of the court to see how she was doing and then gestured for her to move on.

With Collins having to retire in the third set, 6-1, 2-6, 4-1, their wild encounter came to an anticlimax, propelling Swiatek to the semifinals. The Pole became the first athlete from her nation—male or female—to go to the Olympic tennis medal rounds, making tennis history.

But Collins, 30, seemed to reject Swiatek when she reached out to shake her hand following her win. Although microphones did not record their conversation, it was evident how astonished the Pole was. Collins later stated that it was because she informed Swiatek that, about the stomach ailment that cost her the match, she “didn’t need the fakeness”:

DANIELLE COLLINS: I informed Iga that she didn’t need to pretend to me about my injury.

Many people with a lot of charisma come off as one way in the locker room and another way on camera, and a lot of things happen on television.

Furthermore, I haven’t had the best experience, and I don’t think anyone should be dishonest. They are free to be who they are. That’s okay with me; I don’t need to be false.

Swiatek appeared to be just as shocked by Collins’ remarks in the mixed zone following the game as she had been when she first heard them on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

According to Poland’s Interia, Swiatek stated, “To be honest, I have no idea what she meant, since we didn’t even have any interactions that could have caused her to say that to me.”

Swiatek refused to opine when asked if Collins might have been displeased with her during the game because of her nine-minute restroom break.

Rather, Swiatek disclosed that she was not aware that bathroom breaks during the Paris Olympics had a time limit. Due to the intense heat on Tuesday, players were given an extra five minutes between the second and third sets; however, on Wednesday, this time limit was reduced to ten minutes.

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“We usually get five minutes at tournaments when we go out and have time to change clothes,” Swiatek said. “I inquired about my time limit from the woman who accompanied me. She kept it from me. She said that I should just leave whenever I felt like it because they don’t keep track of time here. I took that time to change and gather my thoughts before heading back to the court.

“To be honest, I had no idea how much time had passed, and since I had followed all the rules, I really had no idea what the whole situation was about.”

For a spot in the gold-medal match, Swiatek will next take against Zheng, the sixth-seeded player. In what would be the German’s last match as a professional, the Chinese woman upset Angelique Kerber 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (6).