"Congratulations to Aryna Sabalenka when?" "Seems someone is very pressed" - Iga Swiatek's reflections on losing World No. 1 leaves fans unimpressed
Iga Swiatek's reign as the World No. 1 came crashing down when she fell to Jelena Ostapenko after a roller-coaster match at the 2023 US Open. The Arthur Ashe Stadium witnessed Swiatek's downfall as she lost 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the fourth round.
When the dust settles at the New York Major, Aryna Sabalenka will be sitting pretty on the top spot, having punched her ticket to the last 16 by taking down Daria Kasatkina.
Iga Swiatek thanked her fans for their support throughout her reign as the top women's tennis player in the world. She talked about "defending" her US Open title in a lengthy post she made after getting eliminated from this year's tournament.
“Some of my thoughts about…defending. Many thanks for all your support on my first journey as a no 1 in women’s tennis,” she wrote.
This statement from Swiatek did not go down well with tennis fans and they took to X, formerly Twitter, to express their opinion. One of the users questioned the Polish player on when she plans to extend her wishes to Aryna Sabalenka for claiming the top spot in WTA rankings.
“Congratulations to Sabalenka when?”
Another fan called Iga Swiatek a "sore loser" as she hadn't congratulated Aryna Sabalenka.
“Of course she doesn’t congratulate Sabalenka as the new world number one, it seems someone is very pressed and a sore loser."
One fan expressed their frustration with the Pole and showered praise on Sabalenka.
“You couldn't even say congrats to Sabalenka for being the new #1 How much hate do you have for her ??!!!! I am glad that Sabalenka took the #1 from you ... Because she is the champion of the people, but you are not.”
Here are a few more negative reactions from tennis fans towards Swiatek:
Iga Swiatek’s impressive run as World No. 1
Iga Swiatek may have lost out on the World No. 1 spot to Aryna Sabalenka due to her unsuccessful attempt to defend her title at the US Open, but she did register an impressive run. The Pole stayed on top of the WTA rankings for 75 consecutive weeks, which is the third-best such reign for a first-time World No. 1 ranked player.
The 75-week run as the World No. 1 put Iga Swiatek ahead of even the great Serena Williams, who had managed only 57 weeks as the World No. 1 in her first stint.
Swiatek fell short of Martina Hingis with 80 weeks and, no prizes for guessing the first person on the list, Steffi Graf, who had clocked an amazing 186 weeks.
Swiatek will now once again work towards regaining the top rank from Aryna Sabalenka in order to end the year at the top. However, it will take some effort on her part even though she should have enough opportunities to do so.
For now, she will have to make do with the second spot and hope Sabalenka does not win the title at Flushing Meadows.