A single day refuses to go by without drama for the Team USA women’s olympic tennis team. First it was Coco Gauff having a full blown meltdown because of a call that went against her (she was wrong the whole way). Then Emma Navarro lost to China’s Zheng Quinwen, and told her she didn’t respect her and criticized her “cut-throat” antics. Not great and kinda embarrassing. Hey I’ve got a question, what the fuck are we doing ladies?
Well, today America’s Danielle Collins faced off against world no. 1 Iga Swiatek. The match went to a third set before Collins retired down 4-1 in the decider due to what appeared to be a mini-heat stroke parlayed with an injured stomach muscle. When Iga came over to shake hands and offer her sympathies for Collins having to stop the match, she was met with…well this. Whatever was said seemed to stun Iga and stop her in her tracks.
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) July 31, 2024
Here’s what both had to say (source)
Collins:
“I told Iga she didn’t have to be insincere about, you know, my injury. 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…”
Iga:
“Well, I won’t argue about it, because I’ve never done anything unpleasant towards her. I just wanted to congratulate her on her successful career, because we all know that this is her last year on tour…”
Honestly, I don’t know what she meant because we didn’t even have any interactions that could have caused her to say that to me…Generally speaking, during tournaments, when we go out and have time to change our clothes, we are entitled to 5 minutes. Here I asked the lady who escorted me how much time I had. She didn’t tell me that. She replied that they don’t count time here and that I should just leave when I feel like it. So I used this time to change and cool down, and then I returned to the court. I honestly didn’t know how much time had passed, but I didn’t do anything against the rules, so I don’t really know what the whole situation was about.”
Now a little back story. Collins plays with a fiery, sometimes sassy, no-bullshit attitude on the court. No surprise, she doesn’t like losing, who does? She’s stepping away from the sport at the end of the year, retiring while still playing at a very high level because of multiple chronic issues she’s been dealing with. On the other side, Iga is the queen of the sport. She’s the clear number one ranked woman in the world, the owner of five slam titles, and the easy favorite to win gold here. Iga is super quiet on and off the court while giving a big-time introvert personality. She’s the last person to talk shit or cause any sort of controversy. You kinda couldn’t have more polar opposites playing each other.
The match had a little bit of everything. Iga took a lengthy 9 minute bathroom break, but from my understanding with the intense heat they’re allowed to take their time in there. It’s a rule that’s always been stretched and taken advantage of since the beginning of its creation.
There was also this rocket Collins hit right at Iga during the match. Nothing I’d deem intentional or done with ill will. That’s just part of tennis sometimes. Doesn’t mean it didn’t add to the dramatics.
Danielle Collins nearly killed Iga Swiatek 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯pic.twitter.com/XQLuO5GfSu
— Raghav (@raghavv_01) July 31, 2024
We also had Collins throw out a snarky “play at the server’s pace” to Iga while she was trying to serve.
