“Purely instinctual behaviour… not proud that sometimes I’m not in control of what I do on the court”: Swiatek on hand-waving incident

Iga Swiatek has been a role model in recent times on the women’s tour. A dominant world No 1 – winning two of the four Majors of the season and eight titles in all – and someone who is learning to step into her shoes as a leader off the court as well.

The 21-year-old’s game, work ethic and attitude has earned her many fans across the globe, but the Pole did come under fire recently for waving her hands at the net during the San Diego final as her opponent Donna Vekic was about to hit a shot. Although she did apologise to Vekic on social media, fans on the internet were quick to point out that this wasn’t the first time that Swiatek had done something of this sort.

Now, in an interview to Sport.pl, the Pole opened up about the incident, saying that she is aware of the negative reactions around the hand-waving but clarified that it was purely instinctual behaviour and something that she hopes to avoid doing in the future.

“I can’t control it, but I hope it will never happen again. We are working on it,” Swiatek said. “It is a stress reaction to what is happening. It is an involuntary reaction. I did it during the US Open, and as I recall it was a stressful moment. In San Diego, I did it unconsciously. Right after the game I approached Donna and apologised. She had no hard feelings, it turned out she didn’t recall this at all. I hope fans will understand me as well. I’m aware of the many negative comments on the internet concerning this incident. I’m not proud of the fact, that sometimes I’m not in control of what I do on the court. It’s a purely instinctual behaviour. Maybe I’ve seen one too many football games, and taken notice of what goalies do during penalty shots (laughs).”

Iga Swiatek’s CRAZY hands at net! ????
With 64 wins out of 72 matches, Swiatek says that it has been a long season for her and that the physical and mental toll is not always visible to those on the outside.

“I’m playing since January. To this day, I have completed 72 matches on different continents. It’s starting to take its toll on my head and my legs,” she continued. “Now I feel that each next tournament is very demanding, physically. It becomes harder and harder to stay focused and energised. Ostrava and San Diego were the hardest, so far. Even though I had a good time-zone change going to San Diego – it’s better to travel east-to-west than the other way around, I still found it exhausting. I had a cold – that didn’t help, so I’m very proud to have kept a high level of performance despite those obstacles. “