"We spoke to Netflix...she got a lot of hate" - Iga Swiatek on how her scene with psychologist Daria Abramowicz in Break Point was perceived
Iga Swiatek recently claimed that one of her scenes with psychologist Daria Abramowicz in Netflix’s Break Point was perceived wrongly by many in the tennis world.
The final five episodes of the first season of Netflix’s tennis documentary series Break Point were released in June this year. The penultimate episode featured Swiatek's journey to her maiden US Open title in 2022.
One of the scenes involving Swiatek’s longtime psychologist Daria Abramowicz, however, faced immense backlash on social media.
In the scene, Swiatek was seen getting a haircut. When the hairdresser questioned her about her desired length, Abramowicz interjected instead of letting Swiatek choose her own style. This was followed by a blunt comment from the World No. 1.
The whole interaction did not sit well with the tennis fans. But in a recent press conference at the ongoing Cincinnati Open, Iga Swiatek hit back at the criticism and gave her take on the incident.
She disclosed that certain scenes were taken out of context as the team had no influence on how Netflix chose to present them. The 22-year-old further stated that she approached the streaming platform and expressed her displeasure about the editing.
“There were some things that I thought they edited it, and people kind of misunderstood sometimes few situations in the episode. We already kind of spoke to Netflix about these things. I wish it could be done a little bit differently. When we watched before the premier, we couldn't have any influence on how they edited some stuff,” Iga Swiatek said.
Swiatek also said she was being sarcastic in her interaction with Daria Abramowicz.
"I was sarcastic and I said I'm not going to adjust my haircut to tennis because I tend to, few years back, cut my hair really short. When I was playing, it was falling here, and I couldn't really do anything about it. My hair is really chaotic. It needs to be perfect, because if not, I can't really control it. Daria reminded me about that," Swiatek clarified.
Swiatek, who recently called out haters for their scrutiny over her losing a set against Qinwen Zheng in the third round of the Cincinnati Open, revealed that she and Abramowicz similarly received hate after the Netflix episode was released.
“She got a lot of hate that she, I don't know, has influence on my haircut. That's not true because she's just a person who's going to kind of remind me of those stuff,” Iga Swiatek said.
“There was a lot of hate after the episode came out. That's another thing that kind of convinced me that I don't need that right now at this stage of my career,” she added. “Overall there is too much hate. I think every player would say it.”
Swiatek went on to say she should refrain from using sarcasm in public spaces as haters are quick to judge and draw conclusions.
“I realize that I shouldn't use sarcasm in the public arena because people sometimes are not understanding, and they are just hating,” she said. “I wish people wouldn't judge so much.”
Iga Swiatek to take on Coco Gauff in the semifinals of the 2023 Cincinnati Open
Iga Swiatek, currently competing at the Cincinnati Open, is through to her second consecutive semifinal at a WTA 1000 event following her last-four appearance at the Canadian Open last week.
This is also the World No. 1’s fifth WTA 1000 semifinal of the year. She has made the final twice in 2023, finishing runner-up in Dubai and Madrid.
Following victories over Danielle Collins (6-1, 6-0), Qinwen Zheng (3-6, 6-1, 6-1), and Marketa Vondrousova (7-6 (3), 6-1), Iga Swiatek is now gearing up to face home favorite Coco Gauff in the semifinal on Saturday.