Iga Swiatek has spoken out about the incident involving a ball boy during the Indian Wells tournament.
The world number two faced strong criticism on social media for seemingly hitting a ball toward a ball boy during her semi-final loss to Mirra Andreeva.
A video shows Swiatek angrily swiping at a ball thrown to her by the ball boy with the ball landing near him before bouncing into the stands.
On Monday, March 17, the player shared a long social media post addressing the incident.
The 23-year-old wrote, "I immediately apologised to the ball boy, we made eye contact, and nodded to each other when I expressed regret that it happened near him.”
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Swiatek went on to share, “I’ve seen many players bounce balls in frustration, and frankly, I didn't expect such harsh judgments.”
"Working on oneself isn't something you achieve once and keep forever. Sometimes we take two steps forward and one step back,” the player continued.
Swiatek added, “When I'm highly focused and don't show many emotions on court, I'm called a robot, my attitude labelled as inhuman. Now that I'm more expressive, showing feelings or struggling internally, I'm suddenly labelled immature or hysterical.”
She said she was uncomfortable defending herself but felt the need to share her side of the story to stop speculation and false claims.
Swiatek has not made it to a final so far this year, with her most recent title being the French Open in June last year.
She will now compete as the second seed at the Miami Open, which starts on Tuesday.
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