“Learn how to lose with grace”; “It isn’t a sign of weakness” – Tennis fans divided on Iga Swiatek crying after United Cup defeat to Jessica Pegula

Tennis fans had mixed feelings after seeing Iga Swiatek in tears following her defeat to Jessica Pegula in the United Cup.

Poland and the United States locked horns in the semifinals of the tournament, with Swiatek and Pegula playing the opening match of the tie. The American put in a valiant effort to beat the World No. 1 6-2, 6-2 to register her first victory over Swiatek in five meetings between the pair.

Swiatek was visibly disappointed with her defeat and broke into tears shortly after.

Several tennis fans were far from pleased to see the Pole crying and made their feelings about the incident known on social media.

One fan stated that she needed to learn how to be graceful after defeat.

“Can Iga honestly learn how to lose with grace? Seeing the #1 woman player who only lost a handful of matches last year perform like that after the match isn’t good. Someone give her some coaching,” the fan’s tweet read.

Another fan urged the World No. 1 to “stop being spoiled”, stating:

“Iga please stop being so spoiled. So you lost. How many times have you won? You won’t win all the time. Rafa is your idol. Does he cover his face and cry when he lose?”

One user compared Swiatek to Pegula, claiming that the latter never cried after losing several matches against her.

“Jessica didn’t cry when Iga beat her several times. It’s poor sportsmanship and takes away from Jessica’s win. She really needs to outgrow these bad habits,” the fan’s tweet read.

On the other hand, some fans sympathized with Iga Swiatek, with one claiming that her tears showed how much she cared about tennis.

“Tough to see her cry but at the same time it shows how much she cares about her tennis and specially when she is representing her country…. Pegula did amazing today, such a great performance, love to see it,” the fan’s tweet read.

Another called out everyone mocking and trolling Swiatek because she cried after her defeat.

“Seriously if I ever see anymore people mocking, trolling, or making fun of a player because they cried after losing a tennis match, you will get blocked. Don’t be that petty. Get a grip. It’s not funny. Crying after a devastating loss isn’t a sign of weakness in the slightest,” the fan’s tweet read.

One fan simply stated that players should be allowed to show emotions without being judged.

“On the “Iga’s crying” debate… make up y’alls minds. Do you want women to show emotion or not? Iga cries, people get mad. Rybakina doesn’t cry, people get mad. Just let people feel how they feel and show it how they show it. Caring so much about it is weird,” the fan’s tweet read.

“Nothing special” – Iga Swiatek on crying after her defeat

Asked about her tears following the defeat to Jessica Pegula in the post-match United Cup press conference, Iga Swiatek said that the result was hard to take, especially when she was representing her country. Nonetheless, she downplayed the incident, calling it “nothing special.”

“Because I just knew that I felt kind of helpless today, because physically and mentally I wasn’t able to kind of show up even, and problem-solve. So it’s always hard when you lose, especially when you’re kind of playing for the team and your country. So I was just sad. But, you know, it’s not the first time I cried after a lost match. Nothing special,” Iga Swiatek said.