Elena Rybakina’s former coach Andrei Chesnokov has harshly criticised Iga Swiatek and declared the world No 1 is the only tennis player he does not like.
The former world No 9 claimed Swiatek makes excuses when she loses matches rather than congratulating her opponents.
This is the second time Swiatek has come under fire from a retired Russian ATP player in recent weeks after former world No 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov asserted she deserves “to get paid a lot less.”
Kafelnikov took issue with the fact Swiatek highlighted the demanding tennis schedule and argued there are “too many tournaments” during the Cincinnati Open.
The Polish star was also accused of using bathroom breaks as a tactic to disrupt opponents by former American WTA players Lindsay Davenport and Coco Vandeweghe. Davenport, a former world No 1, labelled the perceived tactic a “bad habit.”
Andrei Chesnokov, who won seven ATP singles titles in a career spanning from 1985 to 1999, has become the latest and surely most brutal critic of Swiatek.
“The only tennis player I don’t like is Iga Swiatek,” the 58-year-old was quoted as saying by We Love Tennis.
“The best women’s match last season was the final in Madrid. Swiatek lost to Aryna Sabalenka and didn’t say a single kind word about the final. When she lost, everything was going wrong for her. She had a headache, she was sick.
“Nadal, every time he loses to Djokovic, says that Djokovic played very well and congratulates him.
“She never says anything. For her, there is only one person in the world. Her. The others are, to say the least, nothing and nobody.”
the 2024 US Open, where she will begin her campaign on Tuesday against world No 104 Kamilla Rakhimova. The world No 1 has won four French Open titles in the last five years, as well as the 2022 US Open.
In her pre-tournament press conference, Swiatek admitted her expectations are lower this year than they were at the 2023 US Open.
“Well, for sure last year I felt I had many things to defend, like World No 1 position, all my points, and also the title itself. I felt like I have a lot of baggage on my shoulders,” said the 23-year-old.
“This year it’s a little bit different. This year I’m just trying to focus on what should I do tennis-wise to play the best game possible.
“My expectations are not like so high compared to last year. So, I’m going to try to focus on getting everything step by step and not put too much baggage on my shoulders.”