Iga Swiatek Fans Turn Against Her ‘Damn Useless’ Psychologist as Alarming Beijing Open Exit Leads to Emergence of a Scapegoat

Published 09/30/2023, 12:14 PM EDT

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Tennis pundits sang praises for Iga Swiatek when she won the French Open. Chris Evert even said she would love to see the Pole break her Roland Garros record of 7 titles. But after her Poland Open win, Swiatek could not get past the semi-finals of all four tournaments. The 22-year-old’s US Open run was the most disappointing so far, and she penned a lengthy note to her fans after she lost the World No.1 ranking. Swiatek thanked her fans and team for supporting her through thick and thin.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has always been confident about her team. She broke barriers by hiring a sports psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, and even credited a part of her win to her psychologist. But Abramowicz’s recent act in the Tokyo Open made the Pole’s fans furious.

Iga Swiatek fans vilified her sports psychologist for snubbing the Pole

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The former World No.1 exited the Tokyo tournament in the Quarter-finals itself, which is technically her second round. This defeat twisted the knife, as Swiatek could not dodge consecutive losses.

The three-time Roland Garros champion lost to Veronika Kudermetova, whom she defeated in straight sets in the previous four encounters.

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Swiatek’s psychologist was spotted scrolling through her phone during the quarter-final match. A fan account of Swiatek shared the image of her team occupied in their world. The post was captioned, “D@ria is scrolling twitter now.” Swiatek had already lost her first set by then, and fans were aggravated.

 

Swiatek fans slammed Abramowicz for being indifferent toward the Pole when she needed her support the most. They vented their angst on X and blamed the psychologist for Swiatek’s declining form. Fans claimed that it is the minimum responsibility of the team to cheer for her as the Pole always ensures to hand the due credit to her team.

A fan took a sarcastic dig at the team for not backing the Pole. The comment read, “I have good people around me that guide me well.”

The World No.2’s fan claimed that Swiatek and her psychologist have no emotional connection. The Polish comment read, “seriously, their emotional distortion is terrifying… I have the impression that there is no decent relationship between them.” (via Google Translate)

A tennis enthusiast compared Swiatek’s team to Elena Rybakina’s. The Kazakh star is also facing a career crisis, and the fan hit two birds at one shot. He wrote, “damn and people on here were calling Elena’s team useless :/”

Another fan blasted Abramowicz for not even pretending to care. He wrote, “i’m sorry but this is pissing me off. idk if iga requests this but when your player is down why are you on your phone and looking away when you could be trying to cheer her up. not even making an effort to act like you care.” 

A Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka fan hoped that the Polish psychologist would see the post as her being in the team is not worth it if she continues doing nothing. The post read, “Well I hope she see this. You have to support the players you work with, you need to DO SOMETHING, there’s no way you are so damn useless and only stay with Iga for what?”

Another fan offered to cheer for Swiatek on behalf of her team, even when the Pole was at the lowest score. The comment read, “do you need a personal cheerleader @iga_swiatek I will cheer even if you’re 0:5, 0:40 down 🙏🏻❤️.”

A Swiatek fan hurled insults at the psychologist and urged her to do her work. She wrote, “Well if u see this F U do something to pump up your player ffs.” 

Another Pole fan expressed her contempt at the team as she wrote, “at this point I hate all of them.” 

Another section of users remained neutral and even backed Swiatek’s psychologist. It is not the first match that the Pole lost with her psychologist by her side.

READ MORE: Days After Defeating Iga Swiatek, 26YO WTA Star Guns for Glory at Tokyo Open With a Confident Message Ahead of Final

But fans could not digest Swiatek losing her ranking, though the 22-year-old confirmed that ranking is not her primary focus. So, X users expressed their confidence that the psychologist had a trick up her sleeve.

Is the Pole’s psychologist brewing something massive?

Tennis enthusiasts balanced the hate that Acramowicz received by awakening the world to another side of the coin. They claimed the sports psychologist noticed all the comments and would strike back at the right time.

A fan analyzed that the performance psychologist is saving screenshots. She wrote in Polish, saying, “She definitely took screenshots to use them someday.”

Another fan posted with conviction and wrote, “she was taking screenshots.” 

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A tennis enthusiast claimed that users are frequently searching for hate material. Her Polish comment translates as, “We are looking for material for haters.”

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Swiatek and Abramowicz have been working together for four years since 2019. Swiatek was a 17-year-old Top-150 player then, and with Acramowicz by her side, she rose to the World No.1. All her Grand Slams came in while working with her psychologist. Though questions still linger, given Swiatek’s prowess, she would reclaim her form soon and restart conquering her realm. The Pole shall start her November journey afresh as she will play against Sara Sorribes Tormo in the China Open.

WATCH THIS STORY: Tennis Commentator Brutally Called Out By Former Serena Williams’ Coach After His Blunder During Iga Swiatek’s Tokyo Encounter

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Written by:

Krishna Priya

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Vadlamani Krishna Priya is a tennis writer at Essentially Sports. Pursuing her passion for storytelling, she has a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. Helped by her cousin who introduced her to the rules and regulations of the game during her childhood, Roger Federer matches became Priya's gateway to the world of tennis.
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Edited by:

Bhavani Singh