Iga Swiatek apology released as psychiatrist’s comments spark huge backlash | Tennis | Sport

The publishers of the ‘Return’ podcast have been forced to apologise after psychologist Dr. Ewa Woydyllo harshly questioned Iga Swiatek’s mentality and behaviour in a recent episode, and claimed that the six-time Major winner seemed “stupid” and “scared” while on the tennis court.

By her own standards, the former world No. 1 has struggled for form over the past year and suffered a shock third-round exit at Wimbledon last month, where she was defending the title. But Dr. Woydyllo’s take on Swiatek’s difficulties sparked major backlash, forcing publishers Trzeci Serwis to delete the episode and issue a public apology.

In a statement shared to Instagram, Trzeci Serwis said: “During the production and post-production stages, we mistakenly and very naively assumed that the words spoken in the programme were the sole responsibility of their author.

“After your feedback and the media’s reaction, we understood that we, in turn, are responsible for what content enters the tennis discourse and what level of discourse it maintains. In this respect, we lost 0-6, 0-6. We sincerely apologize to Iga Swiatek, her team, and all the fans.”

During the conversation with Lech Sidor, the Polish psychiatrist told Swiatek to pursue education and suggested that she no longer had the same belief she had earlier in her career.

“If her motivation has faded, because she usually quits after the second match now, then the answer is simple. I suppose Iga should go to college now. She was a smart girl, and now she’s unhappy,” Dr. Woydyllo claimed.

“[Swiatek] emerged as a star, portrayed herself as a sensible, mature, and wise girl, but she’s most likely stupid, scared, and doesn’t understand what’s going on.”

Referencing Swiatek’s long-time psychologist Daria Abramowicz, she added: “It’s not just Abramowicz sitting there, but also three or four men: her father, her sister. It’s not that results don’t matter to her. They do. When she loses, she’s very sad, worried about herself, angry on the court. And she was a radiant, victorious tennis goddess.”

Swiatek is currently competing at the Canadian Open, where she is the No. 7 seed. She got off to a storming start, beating Sara Bejlek 6-0 6-3 and coming through a marathon 22-minute game in set two.

The Polish star later said: “For sure, it was a good match, and a good start of the hard court season. I’m happy with the level. The first set I was playing with a lot of confidence and very straightforward, so for sure a good one.

“Then, in second, parts of that were kind of the same as first. But there were for sure a few tricky games, especially the long one. I haven’t played a game like that in some time, so I’m happy that I won it and I was solid at the end, so for sure a good match.”

EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page