Women’s world No.1 Iga Swiatek shows off a bizarre pre-match ritual ahead of her second-round match – after angrily lashing out at a fan
- Iga Swiatek’s pre-match shoe squeaking at Australian Open irritated some fans
- One tweeted warm-up tactic was ‘disrespectful’, another said she was ‘annoying’
- Polish ace, 21, breezed into third round after beating Colombia’s Camila Osorio
Iga Swiatek is a fan favourite on court – but her bizarre pre-match ritual ahead of her second round match against Colombia’s Camila Osorio at the Australian Open has become a talking point on social media.
The world No.1 and women’s top seed breezed to a 6-2, 6-3 victory on Wednesday, with her shoe-squeaking before the first game frustrating some supporters.
‘That’s disrespectful. Can’t she stand stand still for a few seconds,’ one wrote after the clip was uploaded to the official Australian Open Twitter page.
Another savagely replied ‘f***, she’s so annoying.’
It comes after Swiatek, 21, lashed out at a fan at Melbourne Park following her win in the first round on Monday.
Iga Swiatek’s pre-match ritual ahead of her second round match against Colombia’s Camila Osorio was a talking point on Twitter
The world number one and top seed (pictured left) frantically squeaked her shoes at the net before the first point on Wednesday when warming up
The three-time Grand Slam champion, whose best result at the Australian Open is a semi-final berth, reminded fans to treat players with patience and respect.
The Polish ace scrambled to a 6-4 7-5 first-round win over German Jule Niemeier – and when one supporter got a little bit too enthusiastic post match, Swiatek snapped.
When autographing a series of novelty-sized tennis balls, one fan decided the quickest way to get their ball to the star was to throw it.
Swiatek quickly took evasive action, but the ball struck her in the midriff, prompting her to waggle her finger at the fan and deliver some choice words.
Swiatek later paid tribute to Aussie great Ash Barty, who retired from the sport last March.
A relieved Iga Swiatek of Poland after beating Jule Niemeier of Germany in her first round match at Melbourne Park
Swiatek has replaced retired Aussie champion Ash Barty as world No.1 and credits the Queenslander for being an inspiration
‘She’s just a huge inspiration and the way she behaves, she’s so classy,’ she said earlier this week.
‘It just seemed like she (Barty) really enjoyed competing and having a challenge, which I really admire because sometimes for me a challenge is something that I tend to get nervous before.
‘So I really wanted to kind of have this mindset and she really inspired me to work on myself.’
Swiatke’s straight-sets victory on a closed Rod Laver Arena set up a third-round clash on Friday with either former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu or Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa.