Iga Swiatek found herself at the centre of unsavoury scenes at Wimbledon after being booed by fans during her shock third round defeat to Yulia Putintseva. The ugly incident came on a dramatic day at the All England Club, where Novak Djokovic ended the dream run of Alexei Popyrin, to leave Alex de Minaur as the last Aussie standing in the Wimbledon singles draw.
Swiatek’s 3-6 6-1 6-2 defeat came on a rain-interrupted day where another one of the women’s favourites, Ons Jabeur, also suffered a shock loss. Last year’s finalist went down 6-1 7-6 (7-4) to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina. For Swiatek though, it represents yet another disappointing showing on her least favourite surface of grass.
This is now the third year in a row that Swiatek has won the French Open title, only to bow out early a month later at the All England Club. Swiatek’s fourth French Open crown was her fifth career major but she’s been unable to replicate her clay court dominance on grass. And to make matters worse for the World No.1, she was booed by fans and accused of an unsporting act against Putintseva, after taking an extended bathroom break in the middle of the match.
Iga Swiatek booed by fans in ugly drama at Wimbledon
Swiatek looked out of sorts after losing the second set to Putintseva, before feeling the wrath of spectators at the the No.1 Court when she returned from a lengthy toilet break. “I was kind of getting bored,” Putintseva said after being kept waiting on court.