Iga Świątek recently silenced her critics with a remarkable campaign at the Canadian Open, where she captured her 12th WTA 1000 trophy and her first title of the 2026 season.
Following her victory, the Pole addressed the judgment and criticism she had endured during a difficult few months. Świątek’s candid comments earned her the support of Chris Evert, who weighed in with a strongly worded verdict.
Chris Evert Reacts to Iga Świątek’s Comments About ‘Unfair Judgment’
Świątek delivered an impressive performance in the Canadian Open final, claiming a dominant 6-2, 6-3 win over Elena Rybakina to get her hands on the trophy. During her victory speech, the six-time Grand Slam champion dedicated the title to “everyone who is dealing with unfair judgment and hate.”
Świątek elaborated on the criticism and scrutiny she has endured during her post-match press conference, highlighting the difficulty of blocking out the noise and staying focused on making improvements.
“Well, all the things that I mentioned in the speech. Like, just the unfair judgment, and sometimes the, like, people just judging and hating,” Świątek said.
“But it’s good to focus on how to create space for you to just focus on yourself. It’s not so easy to do that. But the best thing about this two weeks for me was that I could kind of let it go. Yeah, this anger came like after I won. But during the whole process I was really focused on just growing and progressing,” she added.
The 25-year-old explained that her anger stemmed from the fact that she should never have had to deal with the unnecessary criticism in the first place.
“The same happened after Wimbledon when I started practicing on hard courts. So, for sure I feel like I worked hard through kind of all this noise, and unnecessary noise, that’s what makes me angry. Because it shouldn’t be like that and it doesn’t need to be like that,” she said.
Reacting to a clip from Świątek’s press conference, Chris Evert issued a firm response empathizing with the Pole. She highlighted how players in the spotlight are constantly subjected to “hateful” and “shameful” comments, describing the situation as awful.
“Sometimes I wonder if people really understand what young athletes in the spotlight have to go through behind the scenes, meaning….hateful comments, shameful comments, hurtful comments… this is what social media has opened up, and there is much more exposure to negative comments. Many would say it’s the price to pay, but it’s still…. awful…,” Evert commented.
Świątek has since arrived at the Cincinnati Open as the defending champion, looking to build on her momentum ahead of the US Open.
MORE:Iga Świątek Responds to WTA’s Genetic Sex Testing Debate As Player Testing Begins in Cincinnati
Following a first-round bye as the No. 7 seed, Iga Świątek is set to take on qualifier Emiliana Arango in her tournament opener at the Cincinnati Open. If she wins, the Pole will continue her title defense against Maria Sakkari in the third round of the WTA 1000 event.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.