Nick Kyrgios reacts to Iga Swiatek's comments on WTA Finals having 'empty seats'
Nick Kyrgios has reacted to former World No. 1 Iga Swiatek's comments on the 'empty seats' at the 2023 WTA Finals.
Swiatek is currently competing in the year-ending tournament in Cancun, Mexico. She came back from a 5-2 first-set deficit to defeat reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-6(3), 6-0 in her first group round encounter on October 30.
Following that, the Pole stated during her on-court interview that she hoped the 'empty seats' would be filled for the next few games. She also encouraged fans to come out and see the players give it their all on the court.
"I hope for the next matches we can make the stadium full, because there are many empty seats. Guys, please come and watch our game. We are giving 100% in every match," Iga Swiatek said.
Nick Kyrgios has now taken to X (formerly Twitter) to share his reaction to the former World No. 1's comments. The Aussie simply said:
"'Merger."
The Aussie was seemingly taking a dig at the ATP-WTA merger idea that surfaced earlier this year. Some people in the tennis community believe that a merger between ATP and WTA is not justified given the attenance and revenue generated by the two tours.
Iga Swiatek explains why she wore a red dress at WTA Finals 2023's all-white player party
Iga Swiatek turned heads with her outfit at the 2023 WTA Finals gala a few days ago, as she wore red while the rest of the players wore white. Swiatek's outfit was designed by Polish designer Magda Butrym and cost $1947.
The four-time Grand Slam champion has now taken the time to explain why she chose a different color. She shared that she picked her dress months before the WTA sent an email to the players asking them to wear white.
"Honestly, there was no story. I picked the dress a couple of months before and then WTA emailed us that we should all wear white and we were like ‘Really? We’re not getting married or something’," Swiatek told Tennis Channel in an interview.
The Pole later sought permission to wear the outfit she had picked, and received a positive response from the officials.
"So we asked them if it’s possible to not have that rule and they literally sent an email a couple of hours later saying, ‘It’s okay you can kind of wear whatever you want’," she said.
Iga Swiatek faces 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff and three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur in her remaining two group stage matches.