Iga Swiatek’s fierce rival suggests Wimbledon champion could make early Australian Open exit
Danielle Collins has made no secret of the fact that she is not Iga Swiatek’s biggest fan as she had another dig at the six-time Grand Slam winner during a prediction for an early upset at the Australian Open.
The one-sided war of words started at the 2024 Games in Paris when Collins accused the Pole about being “insincere” after the American retired injured from their match at Roland Garros, saying she “doesn’t need the fakeness”.
“I told Iga she didn’t have to be insincere about, you know, my injury,” the former world No 7 said.
“There’s a lot that happens on camera, and there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma and come out and are one way on camera and another way in the locker room.
“And I just haven’t had the best experience, and I don’t really feel like anybody needs to be insincere.
“They can be the way that they are. I can accept that, and I don’t need the fakeness.”
Collins has taken several swipes since then while there was also a frosty handshake during their United Cup meeting at the start of the 2025 season, although Swiatek has rarely taken the bait when asked about the tension, as she batted controversial questions away.
There will be no Collins-Swiatek meeting at the season-opening Grand Slam as the former has skipped the tournament to focus on her health, but she will be part of the Tennis Channel team.
Australian Open News
‘It’s not a joke’ – Iga Swiatek makes plea after reporter ‘spoiled’ her Australian Open draw
Ahead of the tournament, the 2022 Australian Open runner-up was asked about potential upsets in the first few rounds in women’s draw and replied on the Tennis Channel: “This is a tough one. It’s probably no surprise to people that follow tennis that I am going to go with Swiatek.
“I was a little bit concerned with her performance at the United Cup, two back-to-back losses so I think there is a little bit of trouble in paradise for her right now.”
Second seed Swiatek – who lost against Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic at the United Cup – headlines the bottom half of the draw and she faces qualifier Yuan Yue in the first round before a possible second-round clash against Marie Bouzkova while she could meet 31st seed Anna Kalinskaya in the third round.
The round gets tougher after that as she is projected to face two-time Australian Open champion and former world No 1 Naomi Osaka in the fourth round before a potential showdown with fifth seed Elena Rybakina.
