Iga Swiatek is “not proud” of the way she took her frustration in Indian Wells out on a ball boy but has criticised the “standards” she faces in her behaviour as “not healthy”.
The world number two was heavily criticised on social media for appearing to hit a ball towards a boy during her semi-final loss to Mirra Andreeva.
A video shows Poland’s Swiatek swiping angrily at a ball thrown to her by a ball boy, with the ball landing close to him before bouncing into the stands.
The 23-year-old wrote a lengthy social media post on Monday addressing the incident, as well as the scrutiny of her behaviour and the emotional impact of her one-month doping ban.
“I immediately apologised to the ball boy, we made eye contact, and nodded to each other when I expressed regret that it happened near him,” the five-time major champion wrote., external
“I’ve seen many players bounce balls in frustration, and frankly, I didn’t expect such harsh judgments.
“Working on oneself isn’t something you achieve once and keep forever. Sometimes we take two steps forward and one step back.”
Swiatek has not reached a final this year, with her last title coming at the French Open last June.
She added she was “not comfortable explaining myself” but wanted to share her perspective “to stop the speculation and baseless theories”.
“When I’m highly focused and don’t show many emotions on court, I’m called a robot, my attitude labelled as inhuman,” she said.
“Now that I’m more expressive, showing feelings or struggling internally, I’m suddenly labelled immature or hysterical.
“That’s not a healthy standard – especially considering that just six months ago, I felt my career was hanging by a thread, spent three weeks crying daily, and didn’t want to step on the court.
“Today, after everything I’ve been through, I’m still processing and coming to terms with those experiences.”
Swiatek tested positive for the heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) in August, when she was world number one.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted the test result was caused by contamination.
She missed three tournaments during her ban, with Aryna Sabalenka ultimately replacing her at the top of the world rankings in October.
Swiatek will be the second seed at the Miami Open, which begins on Tuesday.
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