"Iga Swiatek is such a sore loser" - Fans slam Pole over "frosty" handshake with Coco Gauff after United Cup final loss

Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff got the 2025 United Cup final tie between Poland and the USA underway, and the match finished in the American's favor. However, there was a brief moment of tension when the two players came together to shake hands after the match. Swiatek, the World No. 2, seemed to offer Gauff, the No. 3, a rather cold handshake. This prompted several fans to later criticize the Pole.

Gauff gave the USA the advantage in Sydney with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Swiatek and performed a 'digging' celebration before making her way to the net to shake the Pole's hand.

A visibly irked Swiatek was in no mood to exchange pleasantries with the American, and she offered the briefest of handshakes and then left the court. Meanwhile, Gauff proceeded to celebrate with the rest of the American team courtside.

Many fans on X (formerly Twitter) were not impressed with Iga Swiatek's seemingly indifferent attitude during her handshake with Coco Gauff.

"Iga is such a sore loser," a fan wrote.

"Iga the sore loser. Glad she lost," commented another fan, echoing the previous one's sentiments.

"Iga is FROSTY! Mama was salty as hell," another chimed in.

"That handshake, more reasons to dislike Iga," yet another fan stated.

There were others who weighed in on Swiatek and Gauff's rivalry. So far, the Pole and the American have clashed on 14 occasions on the WTA Tour, with Swiatek leading the head-to-head 11-3. However, the World No. 2 has now lost her last two encounters against the World No. 3.

"IJBOL the celebration???? The handshake??? I’m in tears, suddenly this is my new favourite rivalry," wrote one fan.

"No pretence. They don't like each other," another suggested.

The title would ultimately go to the USA after Taylor Fritz's victory against Hubert Hurkacz, marking the nation's second taste of success in three years at the annual international mixed-team tennis tournament. Gauff later opened up on the 'digging' celebration that she unveiled at the 2025 United Cup.

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"That was the theme of the week for me" - Coco Gauff on signature United Cup 2025 celebration

Coco Gauff (Source: Getty)

At a press conference conducted following the USA's 2025 United Cup title triumph, Coco Gauff revealed the origin of her 'digging' celebration. According to the 2023 US Open champion, the celebration stemmed from the retiring Denis Kudla, one of her teammates at this year's edition of the mixed-team tennis tournament.

"Honestly, I think it started, like, in my match against China. I was playing (Zhang) Shuai, and she was playing really great tennis. You know, he (Kudla) was, like, great digging, keep digging. Then the shovel celebration came from him. I just kind of took it and ran with it. That was the theme of the week for me," Gauff said.

Both Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff will now be turning their attention to Melbourne, where the 2025 Australian Open is set to commence in less than a week.