In the quarterfinals of the US Open Grand Slam, Iga Świątek lost surprisingly easily 2:6, 4:6 to Jessica Pegula. Before the start of the second set, the Pole went for a toilet break, which was immediately noticed by observers from all over the world.
In recent weeks, there has been a discussion about Świątek leaving the court. In the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament in Paris, she was criticized for this by Danielle Collins , who complained that the Pole’s toilet break before the third set lasted almost 10 minutes. In turn, after the match with Pegula on X’s service, the leader of the WTA ranking was attacked by popular tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg.
“After a short set, another long break due to Świątek going to the locker room. It seems that this issue should have been included in the rules a long time ago. The problem with Świątek is that she does it disproportionately often after losing sets. She is more interested in changing the course of the match than changing her clothes,” he said in his post.
The American’s words also resonated with Polish fans, who accused him of hypocrisy. Some fans pointed out that Coco Gauff also regularly takes toilet breaks , for which Rothenberg never criticized her. The journalist returned to this topic in the latest episode of the “No Challenges Remaining” podcast.
– I don’t know if you saw that I brought down the wrath of Poland. People were very angry with me, especially those with Polish account names. I’m sure they will continue to be – the journalist commented on the whole situation.
Later in his speech, Rothenberg once again touched upon the topic of Świątek’s toilet breaks. Using the example of the Polish player’s match with Yulia Putintseva at this year’s Wimbledon, he tried to convince her that the WTA ranking leader was breaking the unwritten rules of tennis in this way.
– At Wimbledon, when she lost a set to Putintseva, she brought her diary to the toilet. It’s like taking reading material with you for a break. There is an opinion that in tennis you should be polite, not delay your opponent. It’s a kind of tennis etiquette. It’s an unwritten rule. Breaking it makes people angry – he said.
– Świątek takes a break off the court for about six minutes right after losing the first set. And it’s a recurring pattern for her. I think she’s one of the most frequent users of this tactic – he summed up, returning to the match with Pegula.
