"Incredibly blinkered & uncalled-for" - Iga Swiatek fans infuriated by podcaster "simply spreading hate" against Pole with "unlikeable" remark

Iga Swiatek's fans were infuriated after learning about podcaster Chris Hasek-Watt's hateful remarks against her. In his podcast, Hasek-Watt commented that the Pole was 'unlikeable.'

During a recent episode of his podcast, "Love Means Nothing," Hasek-Watt stated that there was nothing likeable about Swiatek. He suggested that the reason many people supported Jannik Sinner unlike Swiatek during their respective doping scandals was because they liked the Italian more.

“I’m just gonna say it, there’s nothing likeable about Iga Swiatek and I think a lot of people that were protecting [Jannik] Sinner aren’t speaking out to protect Swiatek because people don’t like her. People like Sinner. He’s a good guy,” Hasek-Watt said .

Hasek-Watt reiterated that Sinner is a "likeable" person, while Swiatek is not.

“I’ve said before, I find him maybe a little boring and his stardom, you know I think is a little maybe fabricated but he’s a good guy. He’s a likeable guy, whereas Swiatek isn’t,” he added.

The podcaster pointed that Iga Swiatek is unlikeable because she lacks social cues, doesn't know how to make people happy, and comes across as robotic.

“She doesn’t get social cues. She doesn’t know how to interact . She doesn't know how to have fun and make people happy . She’s just like a robot . And when she got caught for having the substance, I don’t think there’s a lot of love for her, but again it was another slap on the wrist,” Chris Hasek-Watt said.

These comments from Chris Hasek-Watt angered Swiatek's fans, who took to social media to express their displeasure and share their opinions on the same

A fan described Hasek-Watt's remarks as narrow-minded and unwarranted

“The funny thing is, I gravitated towards Iga PRECISELY because she is introverted, quiet and a touch socially awkward by "normal", extroverted standards. Incredibly blinkered and uncalled-for comment," a fan posted.

One fan called the podcaster's comments awful, while another fan pointed out that it was horrible for a grown man for "simply spreading hate" against a successful 23-year-old woman.

“Imagine being a grown-ass man and taking a whole f*cking video of saying absolute sh*tty nonsense and simply spreading hate on an accomplished 23-year-old woman who is unlikely to hurt a fly," a fan wrote.

“Awful take, acting as if you know her personally," a fan posted.

“Iga is a sweet girl. Funny, nice and I love watching her on the court. Not everyone has to share their whole life on social media. Barty or Osaka are also introverts but haters are picking on Iga 😂 . They like to talk about her, what a queen! 👑 ," a fan wrote.

One fan expressed that Hasek-Watt's impression to the tennis fans became "embarrassing" following his remarks against Iga Swiatek.

“My take from this. Sinner is little boring good guy with fabricated stardom so we will defend his questionable failed tests. Iga doesn't know how to make people happy (why should she?) so we will question her fairly proved innocence. I don't stan any of them but c'mon," a fan posted.

“It always amazes me how being an introvert is treated like a crime by some of you (btw if iga was that unlikeable she wouldn’t have fans cheering for her in every stadium she plays, 1.8M followers, people voting for her in fans awards etc etc etc)," a fan wrote.

“I’m just gonna say it. There’s nothing likable about a guy who tries to be such a big podcast guy but can’t even pronounce “Swiatek”. 55 episodes and most people’s first impression of you is this. Embarrassing 😭 ," a fan posted.

Iga Swiatek will next take part in the 2024 World Tennis League

Iga Swiatek at the 2022 World Tennis League [Source: Getty Images]

Iga Swiatek will participate in the 2024 World Tennis League which is scheduled to take place from December 19 to December 22, 2024, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The tournament will feature four teams - the Eagles, Falcons, Hawks, and Kites. Swiatek will be representing the Eagles team alongside Stefanos Tsitsipas, Paula Badosa, and Alexander Shevchenko.

Swiatek also competed in the inaugural edition of the World Tennis League in 2022. She was a member of Team Kites alongside Felix Auger-Aliassime, Holger Rune, and Sania Mirza, and their team finished as the runner-up.