Iga Swiatek shares shocking comments that made her stop wearing Ukrainian ribbon

Iga Swiatek admits she was stunned when some people started saying she is “not Polish” and reveals the negative comments directed at her were the reason why she stopped wearing a Ukrainian ribbon. From the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, world No 1 Swiatek has been very vocal in her support of Ukraine.

For quite some time, Swiatek had a Ukrainian ribbon attached to her hat. But in October, it was spotted by fans that Swiatek stopped wearing the ribbon. In an interview with Polish media, Swiatek was asked to reveal why she stopped wearing the ribbon.

Answering the question, Swiatek said she and her team figured out that wearing the ribbon “probably wasn’t the best idea anymore.”

Swiatek on why she stopped wearing a Ukrainian ribbon
“I think this ribbon helped a lot at the beginning, when I wanted to show that I am consistent when it comes to remembering Ukrainians and what is happening, because social memory is short after all.

But recently there has been a lot of hate and a lot of comments that simply judged me. People were even saying that I am not Polish. I think it started to generate more negative emotions than positive reactions and we decided that the ribbon wasn’t the best idea anymore.

However, we still intend to support Ukraine and I think this is the most important thing. And with what has already happened, wearing the ribbon and the charity match in Krakow, I hope that I have encouraged Poles to help. Besides, there was no need for encouragement, because as a nation we were really united and did a lot,” Swiatek told Super Express – Sport.

Last year, Swiatek organized a charity event for Ukraine in Krakow. In one of her interviews, Swiatek even said that the WTA could have sent a strong message to Russia if they banned Russian and Belarusian players from competing when the invasion was launched.