Danielle Collins isn’t happy with how Iga Swiatek handled the end of their quarterfinal match at the Paris Olympics.
Collins retired from the match during the third set on Tuesday with dehydration and cramps, handing a spot in the semifinal to Swiatek.
But it wasn’t the loss that set Collins off post-match as the two rivals were seen having a heated exchange after the American retired down 4-1 in the third set.
Hmmm. There was a bit of drama in the end. pic.twitter.com/ul9iNDeJzB
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) July 31, 2024
Swiatek’s reaction to her win irked Collins, who said the world No. 1 women’s tennis player came off as disingenuous in the aftermath.
“I told Iga she didn’t have to be insincere about, you know, my injury,” Collins said, via tennis reporter Christopher Clarey. “There’s a lot that happens on camera, and there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma and come out and are one way on camera and another way in the locker room. And I just haven’t had the best experience, and I don’t really feel like anybody needs to be insincere. They can be the way that they are. I can accept that, and I don’t need the fakeness.”
At the start of the third set, Collins had hit Swiatek with a backhand in the midsection that sent the world’s top player to her knees at Roland Garros.
Collins blamed Olympic organizers for not having enough water available for players.
“It’s incredibly disappointing because you work so hard your whole life to make it to the Olympics, and this is my first and my last Olympics, and something like not having adequate water on court,” she said. “That’s really frustrating and it’s really sad.”
Collins, 30, announced in January that she was retiring from professional tennis at the end of this year after an Australian Open loss to Swiatek.
“This is going to be my last season, actually, competing,” she said. “I don’t really know exactly when, but this will be my last season and I’m really looking forward to that.”
Swiatek, who is coming off a third straight French Open title at Roland Garros, moves on to the medal rounds and will take on China’s Qinwen Zheng in the semifinals.
The latest feud adds to what has been a drama-filled Paris Olympics in tennis.
On Tuesday, American Emma Navarro ripped Zheng after losing during the third round of women’s singles play, saying she “didn’t respect [Zheng] as a competitor.”
Earlier in the tournament, Coco Gauff clashed with an umpire during her Olympics loss to Donna Vekić.
