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Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have become household names for tennis fans given their domination of the women's game. The duo, however, has not always made news for their tennis.
There has been the off occasion when the two, who otherwise share a very amicable professional relationship, have made headlines for butting heads.
The latest turn of events that saw Iga Swiatek lose the World No. 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka makes for the perfect occasion to re-look at some of the Swiatek-Sabalenka moments that drew attention for the wrong reasons.
#3 Iga Swiatek's jibe after Madrid Open 2024 final
Aryna Sabalenka raised a few eyebrows when she commented about preferring to watch men’s tennis over the “boring” women’s game ahead of the 2024 Madrid Open. Her remarks drew criticism from a section of tennis observers and fans.
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The Belarusian went on to reach the final at the WTA 1000 event, only to come up short against Iga Swiatek in a three-hour-plus epic. Sabalenka was at her fighting best as she dug herself out of a difficult position, but Swiatek managed to turn things around as she took the encounter 7-5, 6-4, 7-6(7).
Post the match, the Pole took what many observers viewed as a jibe at her opponent in an interview with a Spanish channel, saying: “Well who’s gonna say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?”
"Well, I think, you know, obviously if we would have to play against a man we would lose. It's not about that," Iga Swiatek said. "It's about how two players, you know, match against each other. So I think we can play great matches. You know, I'm No. 1, but I'm seeing these girls in the top 10, we can play such intense battles."
Fans would go on to laud Swiatek’s comments as a befitting reply to the remarks made by Sabalenka, who was once again at the receiving end of criticism and online trolling.
#2 Aryna Sabalenka almost hits Iga Swiatek on the body at Italian Open 2024
Mere weeks after their Madrid Open battle, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek found themselves up against each other in another WTA 1000 claycourt final at the Italian Open.
Emotions ran high once again, and this time manifested on the court itself, with Sabalenka swinging a sledgehammer of a pass right at Swiatek at the net. The powerful strike aimed at the Pole caught her by surprise, prompting a loud shriek from her.
The Belarusian and the umpire, however, saw the funny side of things as responses with sly smiles. The match still went the Pole’s way, even more comfortably, as she took 6-2, 6-3.
#1 Aryna Sabalenka takes over World No. 1 ranking after Iga Swiatek loses points to penalty
Iga Swiatek had a strong grip on the World No. 1 position after the Wimbledon Championships, holding a comfortable lead of 4,224 points over Aryna Sabalenka.
Things began to go south for the Pole from that point on. She could not capture the gold at the Paris Olympics and made an early exit at the US Open. She did not play any tournament after New York and missed the entire Asian swing, allowing Sabalenka to close in on the top with 9,716 points, just 69 points behind Swiatek at 9,785 points last week.
Swiatek, however, lost the World No. 1 ranking in a surprising turn of events after some of her points were deducted as a penalty for her failure to participate in the requisite six WTA 500 events during the season.
The Pole, who has been vocal about her criticism of the busy Tour schedule of late, has only competed in two WTA 500 events this season. She thus dropped a bunch of points from the 9,785 tally, dropping down to 9,665. Sabalenka has also only entered four WTA 500 events this year and also lost 10 points from her tally. The total, however, still stood at 9,706 to help her overtake Swiatek.
The unforeseen turn of events drew a lot of eyeballs. The spotlight is firmly on the WTA rulebook and the demanding nature of the modern Tour.
