Iga Swiatek's 'victim mentality' called out by tennis analyst with Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka examples

Tennis analyst Gill Gross scrutinized Iga Swiatek's letter to fans after she was involved in a controversy at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The Pole's actions towards a ball kid got her under fire from the tennis world, but she expressed her honest feelings soon after.

During her Indian Wells semifinal loss to Mirra Andreeva, in a heated moment, Swiatek smashed the ball right back at the ball kid who gave it to her. Although no one was harmed, the World No. 2 was criticized for her actions.

After her exit, Swiatek shared a lengthy message on Instagram explaining her feelings. She wrote about how she was criticized when she refused to express her emotions and also when she did. Gross praised this part of the message during his recent podcast.

However, Gross believed that the note was a "double-edged sword," and it had parts he disagreed with.

"Here's where she's [Iga Swiatek] not right. She's not right in saying that she is singled out. She's just not correct. Every tennis player is being abused constantly on the Internet. It sucks, but it's true. She is not special for being abused," Gross said.

Gross gave the examples of Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka also receiving hate messages, as everyone "gets bullied on the internet."

"I'm telling you, Coco Gauff is gonna say the same thing. I'm sure Aryna Sabalenka's DMs after she loses... 'You grunt too loud.' Everybody gets bullied on the Internet. It's the worst. It's horrible. Okay? But also, instead of victim mentality, 'Why is this happening to me?' You got to look at it hopefully as a... This is just the world we live in now. Let's figure out a way to manage this," he added.

Iga Swiatek's form, however, since the clay season ended last year, has been topsy-turvy. She was also banned for a month at the fag end of the last season for a doping violation leading to more struggles. Her last title came at the French Open last year, and she has not even reached a final since.

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Iga Swiatek's struggles could be related to an unknown 'behind the scenes' issue, says tennis analyst

Iga Swiatek at the Miami Open 2025 - Source: Getty

During the same podcast, Gill Gross claimed that Iga Swiatek was not in a "good headspace," considering her recent form.

"However, it is clear that Iga Swiatek is not in a good headspace now, and I think that is the main reason for her current struggles. There may be technical issues, but I am not good enough to spot them," he said.

Further, Gross explained that Swiatek was facing the burden of defending an enormous amount of points that she earned last year while struggling to regain the World No. 1 spot she lost to Aryna Sabalenka. However, he also hinted that there might be things we are unaware of.

"But I also wonder if there may be more going on behind the scenes that we don't know about," he added.

The four-time French Open champion is the best player on clay at the moment on the WTA Tour, statistically. She will begin her claycourt season with much optimism at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.