The women’s singles quarterfinal match at the Paris Olympics between Iga Swiatek, the top-ranked player in the world, and American Danielle Collins ended with Collins withdrawing from the court. The score was 6-1 2-6 4-1 in favor of Swiatek, who is the defending champion of Roland Garros.
The match was filled with tension, starting with a toilet break taken by Swiatek, followed by Collins accidentally hitting a ball towards Swiatek and apologizing. Later, Collins requested a medical timeout before ultimately retiring from the match. After Collins retired and during the post-match handshake, a heated argument ensued. Collins clarified the conversation that took place at the end of the match during a press conference. She claimed that Swiatek behaves differently in front of the cameras compared to how she behaves in the locker room.
“I told Iga,” explained Collins, “that she shouldn’t be insincere about my injury. People can act differently in front of the camera and in private. Everyone can be whoever they want, but I don’t appreciate dishonesty,” she stated.
Swiatek, on the other hand, explained that she didn’t say anything negative and was simply wishing Collins a speedy recovery, especially after her medical timeout.
“I won’t argue about it because I have never done anything unpleasant to her. I just wanted to congratulate her on her successful career, knowing that this is her last year. Normally, during tournaments, we are allowed 5 minutes to change and freshen up. I asked the person accompanying me how much time I had, and she told me that time is not counted here. So I took the opportunity to change and then returned to the court. I honestly didn’t know how much time had passed, but I didn’t violate any rules,” Swiatek clarified.
Meanwhile, Collins’ physical issue at the Paris Olympics has led her to miss both the National Bank Open in Toronto and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. She suffered from heat stroke, which resulted in a problem with her rectus abdominis. Collins provided an update on her injury, emphasizing the importance of rest and recovery for a quicker healing process in preparation for the US Open.
“As I near the end of my career, it has been crucial for me to rest and recover in order to heal as quickly as possible. After experiencing heat stroke in Paris, I strained my rectus abdominis. I had a similar injury in the same area almost four years ago, which prevented me from competing for over four months. I definitely don’t want a repeat of that. I wanted to provide this update for everyone who has been reaching out and checking on me since my injury at the Olympics,” the American player shared.
Photo from Danielle Collins Instagram
