Iga Świątek came to New York with a clear goal: to replicate her 2022 success when she triumphed at the US Open. So far, she is on track, having already advanced to the third round. First, she fought through a tough match against Kamilla Rakhimova, and then she ruthlessly defeated Ena Shibahara, giving up only one game.
Everything was working well. Today, I had a better rhythm, and I tried to focus on myself because I was very tense in the last match. I didn’t think about the result, because that’s when your mind can play tricks on you, so I focused on each shot
- Świątek said after her match against the Japanese player. However, it’s not these words that are making the most noise.
Świątek speaks out. "We can no longer feel safe on the internet"
The media is buzzing about another statement made by the world No. 1 during Thursday’s press conference. Świątek not only discussed her match against Shibahara and analyzed her performance, but she also touched on a burning issue in recent days: the online hate directed at tennis players.
Negative comments on the internet have been a topic for some time, but the discussion intensified after Caroline Garcia's post. The French player was eliminated in the first round of the US Open and then received a flood of unpleasant messages, prompting her to bring the issue to light.
I’m really worried when I think about younger players who are just coming onto the scene and have to go through this. People who are not yet fully developed as individuals and for whom this hatred can really take a toll. You might think it doesn’t hurt us. But it does. We are human. And sometimes, when we receive these messages, we are already emotionally drained after a tough loss. And they can be harmful
- Garcia emphasized. Świątek quickly responded to her post, saying, "Thank you for speaking out".
Now, Świątek addressed the issue of online hate during the press conference.
I feel like we can no longer be active on the internet and feel safe there. We really have to be careful about what we read and who we follow
- she began. She then admitted that she tries not to read negative comments and mostly sees messages from people she has accepted. Nevertheless, some hateful words still reach the tennis star.
Świątek with a strong message. "It would be nice"
In response, Świątek made a clear appeal to tennis authorities. She believes they should be more involved in protecting players from hate and creating more tools to do so.
It would be nice if we could do more, try to educate people. Maybe in the future, we can find some solutions, like using artificial intelligence to make the internet safer for us
- she added. It turns out that one tool has already been developed to improve the comfort of female tennis players. Moreover, it was used during Roland Garros. It’s called Threat Matrix, software designed to block hate speech online and prevent harassment. However, Świątek believes that such solutions should be used more often.
I know these tools exist. (...) My team even tested them. (...) It would be nice if we were given more opportunities to use such tools because they are helpful for us
- she concluded. Świątek's next match in the third round is against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The match is scheduled for Saturday, August 31, but the start time has not yet been announced.
