"You will soon be bothered by Iga Swiatek breathing" - Fans hit back at CoCo Vandeweghe's "tactic" claim over Pole's toilet breaks and kit changes

Former WTA star CoCo Vandeweghe recently claimed that if she had still been an active player, she would be aware of Iga Swiatek whenever the Pole would take a toilet break or change her kit after losing a set. According to Vandeweghe, she would have perceived it as Swiatek trying to break her momentum. However, the former World No. 9's take has not gone down well with some tennis fans.

Swiatek endured a difficult start to her quarterfinal clash against Mirra Andreeva at the ongoing Cincinnati Open on Saturday, August 17. The Pole lost the first set 4-6 to the 17-year-old Russian, and soon took a lengthy toilet break. Following her return, the usually-dominant World No. 1 seemed to have rediscovered her best form. At the same time, Andreeva's performance dipped to a certain extent, and Swiatek emerged triumphant after winning the second and third sets 6-3 and 7-5, respectively.

Vandeweghe, who is currently covering the Cincinnati Open as part of Tennis Channel's team of analysts, later suggested that Swiatek's habits of either taking toilet breaks and/or changing kits after losing sets constitute a "tactic" that the Pole uses to disrupt her opponents' rhythms. The former World No. 9 also claimed that had she still been playing, she would have been "aware" of it. A fan later shared Vandeweghe's thoughts on X (formerly Twitter).

"It's been spoken about, Iga's tactic of going to the bathroom, changing her kit, taking her time, ALWAYS after losing a set. If I was still playing, I would definitely be very aware of it... she's trying to disrupt my rhythm...," Vandeweghe reportedly said.

Several fans have since responded to this tweet. There were some suggestions that the former World No. 9's comments were picking on Swiatek. One fan stated that modern rules allow players to take toilet breaks and there was thus nothing wrong with the Pole's actions.

Here are some fan reactions:

"Sabalenka does the same so why does she only mention Iga? like many other players. You will soon be bothered by the fact that Iga is breathing," a fan wrote.

"LOL all the players can and do go to the bathroom, so why does it only help Iga? Be serious and let the players use the bathroom if they need to. What a discussion," commented another fan.

"No problem. You're allowed to go to the toilet after the set and most players do that today. Being used as a tactic is part of the game," another fan chimed in.

Another set of fans criticized Vandeweghe, with one fan sharing a report of Vandeweghe allegedly not carrying out a proper warmup with an opponent:

"Talking about gamesmanship CoCo?" said one fan, .

"Maybe CoCo V. should go to toilet because she s**t herself," another fan commented.

"Oh jealous Karen Vandeweghe again looking for attention how sad is that," another fan added.

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CoCo Vandeweghe's former doubles partner Danielle Collins claims that Iga Swiatek had been "insincere" in the pair's Paris Olympics 2024 quarterfinal contest

Danielle Collins in action against Iga Swiatek at the 2024 Paris Olympics (Source: Getty)

Danielle Collins had harsh words for Swiatek following their quarterfinal meeting at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which ended with Collins retiring with injury in the third set.

During the match, there was a major flashpoint when a backhand hit by Collins hit eventual bronze medalist Swiatek, which led to the Pole briefly dealing with some pain. She had also expressed her disgust at one point during the match when Swiatek did not play to Collins' pace on the American's serve.

When the pair came together to shake hands after Collins retired, the American seemingly said something to Swiatek that left the Pole with a shocked expression.

Collins later criticized Swiatek at a press conference, saying that she had called the Pole "insincere" over her injury.

"I told Iga she didn’t have to be insincere about, you know, my injury. There’s a lot that happens on camera, and there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma and come out and are one way on camera and another way in the locker room. And I just haven’t had the best experience, and I don’t really feel like anybody needs to be insincere. They can be the way that they are. I can accept that, and I don’t need that fakeness," Collins said.

Swiatek is currently featuring at the Cincinnati Open, where she is set to battle it out with rival Aryna Sabalenka for a place in the final of the prestigious WTA 1000 event.