"Iga Swiatek's psychologist is stealing money" - Fans slam Pole for making ball kid 'flinch' with 'ugly' outburst during Indian Wells loss

Fans called out Iga Swiatek for her "ugly" behavior during her BNP Paribas Open semifinal loss to Mirra Andreeva. The Pole unexpectedly slammed the ball given to her by the ball kid which made the kid 'flinch.'

Swiatek took on Andreeva at Indian Wells on Friday, March 14, for a place in the finals of the WTA 1000 event. Andreeva was looking for her second straight WTA 1000 final while Swiatek hoped to defend her title successfully.

The 17-year-old Russian, however, was dominant over three sets, extending her winning streak to 11 by registering a 7-6(1), 1-6, 6-3 win over the Pole. Notably, Swiatek showed signs of frustration throughout the sets that she lost.

Her unexpected outburst in the third set has turned fans against her. In a video shared on Reddit, it is seen that the 23-year-old slammed the ball into the ground as soon as she received it from a ball kid. The ball kid 'flinched,' according to many fans, making for a difficult watch.

"Ugly behavior. There is no other way to describe it," one fan wrote.

One fan called out her psychologist Daria who is frequently seen with her. They wrote:

"Her "psychologist" is stealing the money at this point, Iga gets rattled if the sun gets clouded lately"

Comment byu/jovanmilic97 from discussion intennis

"She made him flinch. That's really low," another fan wrote.

The Pole's outburst was presumably because she was frustrated by the ball kids moving while she prepared to return Andreeva's serve. Here are some more fan reactions slamming Iga Swiatek for conduct on the court.

"She’s a really, really sore loser. Like always," one fan wrote.

"Think the worst part is the shrug to him at the end after making him flinch, wasn’t even immediately remorseful but it’s more like “you deserve that”. So annoying cause you know this will be the clip none tennis fans see to give the WTA more bad rep," another fan wrote.

"One of the worst attitudes on the tour, certainly the worst among the top players," yet another fan wrote.

Almost a month ago, Swiatek was involved in another controversial moment on the court in Qatar.

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Iga Swiatek smashes her racket during Qatar Open SF loss to Jelena Ostapenko

In Picture: Iga Swiatek at the BNP Paribas Open - Source: Getty

Heading into the Qatar Open semifinal, Jelena Ostapenko led the head-to-head against Iga Swiatek 4-0. The Latvian continued her dominance and led the Pole 6-3, 3-0 before the latter lost her composure.

Swiatek smashed her racket into the ground in frustration and her opponent gave an amusing reaction to the act.

Eventually, Swiatek lost the second set 1-6. In Dubai, a few days later, Mirra Andreeva ousted Swiatek in the quarterfinal. The Russian was at it again in Indian Wells, beating her for the second straight time.

Andreeva has set up a huge clash against Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the BNP Paribas Open. Sabalenka got the better of Madison Keys 6-0, 6-1 in the semifinal.