Iga Swiatek insults women's tennis while trying to praise the sport

Iga Swiatek does not mind speaking her mind about different views and she normally does so well. She admits she is not a big fan of social media between that environment can be toxic. Many avoid the medium because people can often not be very nice.

Swiatek, the current No. 1 on the WTA and has been there for most of two years, might possibly be ascending to become an all-time great. She already has four Grand Slams to her name and she is only 22 years old. Once she reaches the final of a tournament, she is likely going to win. Swiatek is 20-4 in event finals. When she smells blood, she attacks.

But in some comments, after she defeated Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling three-set final, Swiatek gave critics of women's sports a reason to feel better about themselves. They should not, however. Just because an average person might watch more men's sports than women's, assumably, that does not mean the average person can win a point of a women's tennis professional or score a point in a WNBA game.

Iga Swiatek accidentally discredits women's tennis

After listening to Iga Swiatek, however, they might think they can. The point Swiatek was trying to make was that people should pay more attention to women's tennis because, specifically if anyone watched the Swiatek and Sabalenka final in Madrid, the WTA is played at a high level and worthy of one's attention.

During the Pole's comments, however, she seemed to reveal that women's players are not as good as men's players. Again, maybe that is not what she meant, but that is how one might easily interpret what she actually said. After saying women's tennis is not boring, she might have simply stopped what she was going to say.

Swiatek said in a post-match press conference, "If we had to play against a man, we would lose. It’s not about that. It’s about how two tennis players play against each other...It’s about the emotions it awakens in people, we shouldn’t compare the level of tennis, but what it generates in you when you watch it. I think people can learn a lot from watching women’s tennis, it can be interesting and emotional."

Most of what Swiatek said is correct in its intent, of course. One, in comparison, might get as much out of watching a high school football game as they do the NFL, but many do not care to watch anything other than NFL football. The difference with professional tennis is that likely many of the top women's players could compete with players on the ATP.

Swiatek, though, said that if she were to play a men's player she would lose. That is an awful example to set for a young girl growing up playing tennis and can be a defeating one. She went on to say that comparing levels of tennis is not good, but she certainly implied a comparison and it was a negative one toward women's players.

More tennis news and analysis