Iga Swiatek on double standards in media treatment of men and women: "Judged more harshly, as if we had no control over our emotions"
Iga Swiatek has ended her 2023 season on a high note. She lifted her maiden WTA Finals title in Cancun, Mexico, and as a result, finished the season as World No. 1.
During the off-season, the Pole is in recovery mode after playing 79 matches in 2023, which surely must have taken a toll on her. Swiatek is also reflecting on other aspects of tennis and recently sat down with the Polish publication WP SportoweFakty to discuss various topics.
During the interview, Iga Swiatek was asked how she handled her emotions on the court. She specifically looked back at the 2021 WTA Finals, where she cried during her matches against Maria Sakkari.
Swiatek opined that players are often misinterpreted by those in media and outside the sports when they express their emotions during a match.
The 22-year-old revealed that she felt terrible after her match against Sakkari. However, she no longer wants to hide what was going through her mind during her matches and aims to show her "real face" to everyone.
"Journalists often ask me about the 2021 WTA Finals in Guadalajara [Iga Swiatek burst into tears during the match with Maria Sakkari - note. ed.]. It's not good when your emotions prevent you from continuing to play or perform your best tennis," Swiatek said.
"We all work to be better than the tennis player on the other side of the net, but crises keep coming, just like in life. Sometimes people don't understand that a player also has the right to emotions. It's much harder for athletes to forgive them. That's why I felt ashamed after Guadalajara. Today I believe that we should not be like rocks. If I pretended to be indestructible, I would be distorting reality. I prefer to show my real face," she continued.
Iga Swiatek further slammed those in the media for treating male and female athletes differently. She believed women are more scrutinized than men when expressing their emotions on the court.
The four-time Grand Slam champion said it is tough for one to control their emotions. Moreover, she believes that men are dubbed passionate when they cry and vent their frustration, which is not the case with women.
"Women are judged more harshly, as if we had no control over our emotions at all. During the ATP Finals, we saw that men also react differently on the court, sometimes they are aggressive, sometimes they also cry. However, in men's tennis it is accepted and interpreted as a passion that leads to success," she said.
Meanwhile, I read again this season that I sometimes lose control over my emotions. That "Swiątek is over", that "her career is over". I cannot understand such opinions. Some people are very guided by gender stereotypes," she added.
A look into Iga Swiatek's route to title at WTA Finals 2023
Iga Swiatek was seeded No. 2 at the 2023 WTA Finals and drawn in Chetumal Group alongside No. 3 seed Coco Gauff, No. 6 seed Ons Jabeur, and No. 7 seed Marketa Vondrousova. She began her campaign with a convincing straight-sets victory against Vondrousova.
Swiatek continued her impeccable form to sweep aside Gauff and Jabeur in straight sets too. Finishing in the first position in her group, she faced No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. There was little challenge from the Belarusian in the windy conditions of Cancun as Swiatek downed her, 6-3, 6-2.
The Pole defeated No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula in the final, 6-1, 6-0, to lift the title at the year-end championship. In the process, she became the first player since Serena Williams in 2012 to win the WTA Finals without losing a set.
Iga Swiatek wrapped up her 2023 WTA season with 68 wins and 11 losses. In addition to the WTA Finals, she lifted titles at the Qatar Open, Stuttgart Open, French Open, Warsaw Open, and Beijing Open.