Iga Swiatek is taking the spotlight at the WTA Finals, but not all of it for the right reasons. The Pole faced backlash for her behavior after her second-round robin match against Elena Rybakina on Monday. She suffered an unfortunate defeat to the sixth seed, and after shaking her opponent’s hand at the net, Swiatek walked straight to her bench. It looked like she wasn’t going to shake hands with the umpire. Moments later, she returned to do so, but the scene left the tennis world confused. Now, Rennae Stubbs has weighed in on the unfolding drama.

Taking to her podcast, the former pro who also coached Serena Williams during the 2022 US Open opened up about all the latest talk from the WTA Finals in Riyadh. When it came to handshakes, she and her co-host couldn’t help bringing up Swiatek’s moment. Stubbs said, “I mean it was a little bit unusual. I’m not gonna lie, I thought, you know, usually you go shake the hand immediately of the umpire and then you sort of go. But I think she was just thinking, ‘I’m gonna go put my a little bit upset, I’m going to go put my racket down..’”

True to her words, Swiatek seemed to do exactly that in the clips shared online by tennis journalist Jose Morgado. She started strong, taking the first set 6-3, but things flipped fast. Rybakina stormed back to dominate the next two sets 6-1, 6-0, sealing her first win over Swiatek in their five meetings this season. It wasn’t an easy loss for the World No. 2. As Rennae put it, “Yeah, she definitely a breath shook the umpire’s hand. Ship So calm the farm, everybody out there. She did the right thing in the end, and we’ve all lost, and it’s never fun. You lose.”

It’s not the first time Iga has found herself in a tense moment with an umpire this season. At the 2025 French Open, she clashed with Kader Nouni as he stepped down to check a ball mark on Elena Rybakina’s second serve that had been called out. With both locked at 4-4 in the final set, Nouni leaned in to inspect the line, and the Pole quickly chimed, “I didn’t ask you to check it.” This time, while there was no drama, it did stir the pot amongst fans who questioned her attitude.

However, the stakes in Riyadh are high. With 1500 points on the line and a second WTA Finals title for Iga within reach, every match matters. And Swiatek has been candid about where things went wrong against the Kazakh.

Iga Swiatek talks about her mistakes during her match against Rybakina

After the match, Swiatek didn’t dodge responsibility. “I’ll have to watch and analyze,” she said. “I just think I wasn’t that solid in getting back those fast, long shots. She was more aggressive and also more solid in finishing the rally. But I will have to watch to understand fully.” Her voice carried reflection, not frustration, showing she knows exactly where things slipped.

Just days before, Iga Swiatek had candidly discussed her new partnership with coach Wim Fissette. The collaboration is still taking shape, but it’s already tweaking her game. Faster courts have long been tricky for her, yet that’s where progress is showing. “Technically, for sure, the way I played on faster surfaces, the way I handled sometimes faster balls that were an issue for me in previous seasons. That was something that I felt improved totally,” she said. She’s clearly evolving, leaving her comfort zone behind.

Her serve has been another big talking point this season. Swiatek knows it’s a key part of her game that’s coming together. “The speed of the serve… I think I was in some kind of ranking, fifth or something, in aces this year. That’s impossible. But my serve improved. I’d like my percentage to always be consistent. That’s the next goal,” she said with a grin. She’s learning the balance between control and power, though rivals like Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina have capitalized where she still falters.

Swiatek’s serve can be too readable. It’s fast, but lacks the sting of Rybakina or Gauff’s delivery. She’s working to change that. “We changed the position a bit with fast forehand balls … I think you can see that I serve a little better to backhands … I was very happy with that,” she said.

Still, her WTA Finals run ended sooner than expected after falling to Amanda Anisimova. Two group-stage losses meant another early exit, just like last year. The question now is: What’s next for the Polish No.1?