Swiatek went into the match against the then World No. 3 Sabalenka as the favorite, owing to the Pole’s dominance over the Belarusian across two previous showdowns at WTA 1000 events in Madrid and Rome earlier this year. The World No. 1 also had a resounding 8-3 lead in the pair’s head-to-head on the WTA Tour up until that point.

However, Sabalenka produced a masterclass in serving and returning aggressively, which gave Swiatek very little time to grow into points. More often than not, the two-time reigning Australian Open champion finished points off much quicker than the three-time reigning French Open champion

To make matters worse for Swiatek, her second serve was dismal throughout the match. All these factors combined eventually to help Sabalenka to a first-ever straight sets win over the Pole.

As the match unfolded, prominent tennis author and social media personality Bastien Fachan shared an image of Danielle Collins on X (formerly Twitter). It featured the former World No. 7 sitting on her bench during one of her matches and grinning wide. Fachan’s post also featured a caption that insinuated that Collins was following the match at home and enjoying Swiatek losing against Sabalenka.

“Danielle Collins at home watching this like,” Fachan wrote.

Fachan’s insinuation stemmed from Collins and Swiatek’s rivalry, which took a bitter turn at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The pair had clashed in the women’s singles quarterfinals at this year’s Games, and it ended controversially as the American retired and gave the Pole a talking before making her way out of the court. Later, Collins opened up at a press conference and told reporters that she had criticized Swiatek over the Pole’s apparent ‘insincerity’.

However, post did not go down well with former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who ridiculed Fachan by asking why Collins would be sitting at home all kitted up, with a racquet in her hand.

“Why would she be sitting at home like that?” Azarenka asked.

Swiatek herself later spoke up about the frosty exchange with Collins at the Paris Olympics, suggesting that she couldn’t make much sense of the American’s take.