Tennis Controversies of the week: Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Danielle Collins involved in "cold" net exchanges at United Cup; Nick Kyrgios in hot water for "bullying" son of Aussie great, and more

Tennis stars Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, and Danielle Collins made headlines during the United Cup due to their tense handshakes at the net. In other news, Nick Kyrgios faced backlash for his alleged "bullying" of Lleyton Hewitt’s 16-year-old son Cruz.

Meanwhile, Elena Rybakina spoke out in strong defense of coach Stefano Vukov amid the latter's shocking WTA ban. In other news, Alexander Zverev criticized ATP for contributing to player's injuries with "dead" balls.

Also, Sloane Stephens addressed calls for her retirement with a brutally honest response amid form struggles.

On that note, here's a recap of the top tennis controversies from last week:

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Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, and Danielle Collins exchange tense handshakes during United Cup

Iga Swiatek and Danielle Collins exchanged a peculiar handshake before the 2025 United Cup final between Team Poland and Team USA.

The moment rekindled memories of their tense 2024 Paris Olympics clash, marked by Collins hitting Swiatek’s chest with a backhand, retiring mid-match due to injury, and accusing Swiatek of being "insincere" in a post-match press conference.

Now, once again, the two women have shared a seemingly odd handshake before the United Cup Final.

Watch the video here:

Later that day, Swiatek found herself in another tense handshake after her 4-6, 4-6 defeat to Coco Gauff in the 2025 United Cup final. Tennis insider Jose Morgado posted a clip on X (formerly Twitter) capturing the exchange between the two players.

"A very unusual cold handshake from Iga Swiatek," Morgado wrote.

Taylor Fritz then secured a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4) victory over Hubert Hurkacz, clinching Team USA’s second United Cup title.

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Nick Kyrgios came under fire for alleged "bullying" of Lleyton Hewitt’s young son Cruz

Nick Kyrgios faced backlash for allegedly harassing Lleyton Hewitt's 16-year-old son, Cruz, following the teenager's recent practice session with Jannik Sinner. Kyrgios has been openly critical of Sinner since the Italian tested positive for the banned substance Clostebol last year.

Cruz, who received a wildcard for the 2025 Australian Open qualifiers, shared a photo of his practice session with Sinner on social media. Kyrgios expressed his disappointment with Cruz for posting the picture, commenting:

"Love ya Cruz but this is wild 😢"

"Thought we were boys 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔"

"Cooked post 💉"

Nick Kyrgios' comments on Cruz Hewitt's post with Jannik Sinner | Instagram @cruzhewitt

Tennis fans quickly took to social media to criticize Kyrgios' remarks, with one commenting:

"The clown Nick Kyrgios is now bullying Cruz Hewitt on his Insta post where he posted a picture with Jannik Sinner. Imagine bullying a 16-year-old kid. I hope this scumbag's wrist flares up and he gets another injury before AO. He deserves everything that is coming his way."

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Elena Rybakina issued strong defense of coach Stefano Vukov following WTA ban

Elena Rybakina released a strongly worded statement in defense of her coach, Stefano Vukov, following his provisional ban by the WTA. Rybakina ended her professional relationship with Vukov in August 2024 and is now coached by Novak Djokovic's ex-coach Goran Ivanisevic.

During a United Cup press conference, she addressed Vukov's provisional suspension. On January 2, The Athletic reported that Vukov was banned from coaching by the WTA due to an ongoing investigation from last year for a potential breach of the tour's Code of Conduct.

The Kazakh tennis star expressed her dissatisfaction with the situation, writing:

"Well, I'm working with Goran, and these articles came out, I mean, I can only say and I said it already before that he never mistreated me or it was never anything like that," she clarified.

Rybakina criticized "active coaches" and "commentators" for making what she felt were "unfair" assumptions about her partnership with Vukov.

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Alexander Zverev blasted ATP for injury risk linked to "dead" tennis balls

Alexander Zverev has once again pointed to the ATP tour’s changing tennis balls as a factor in his recent injury at the recently concluded United Cup.

After defeating Thiago Monteiro in straight sets, Zverev revealed he had been dealing with an elbow issue since the 2024 ATP Finals.

"I didn't serve since Turin. I had a little bit of an elbow issue. I think my speeds still need to go up a little bit," he said in his post-match press conference.

Following his second win against China’s Zhang Zhizhen, the German tennis star shared that his elbow was still "quite sore" and suggested that the ATP's balls were exacerbating the issue.

"It's quite sore. I'm working on it every day. It's just what it is. I think the balls are not helping," he said in his press conference. "They're dead. We've been having this discussion for I don't know how long."

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Sloane Stephens clapped back at critics suggesting she should retire amid form struggles

Sloane Stephens hit back at criticism regarding her apparent lack of motivation and the calls for her retirement. The American's form has been declining, with her last singles victory at a WTA Tour event coming in the first round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.

In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Stephens addressed the harsh comments about her struggles, calling out the critics.

"People don’t have any filter. They also don’t realize that you’re another human being. They would never say it to your face. It actually prohibits people from putting their lives out there because they don’t want to be judged," Stephens told Us Weekly.

Stephens also revealed that, despite her form struggles, she’s still earning well from tennis and that no one in her position would think of retiring due to the financial rewards.