‘Wash it for me’ – Iga Swiatek under fire as ex-world No 5 reveals surprise Madrid Open requests
Former world No 5 Daniel Hantuchova has seemingly called out Iga Swiatek’s spoilt behaviour after two separate alleged incidents at the Madrid Open.
The former Australian Open semi-finalist has been part of the Madrid Open’s management team since 2024, where she deals with player and media relations.
When Swiatek won the WTA 1000 event in 2024, the Slovakian alleged that the Pole showed a lack of consideration for people at the tournament.
Hantuchova claims the six-time major winner personally approached her with clothes and asked if they could be washed, with the former player taken aback by the request.
“I also had the laundry incident, when Iga personally brought me her clothes and asked me what to do with them,” she said on the Kanar+ podcast on Czech channel Canal+ Sport, via Tennis Up To Date.
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“I can’t imagine going up to someone from an older generation and saying, ‘Here’s my laundry, so wash it for me.’ And I actually went and dealt with it.”
The following year, the Madrid Open was thrown into chaos during a nationwide power outage. Hantuchova recalled how even handing out food was a challenge when the electricity was unavailable.
The seven-time WTA Tour title winner also alleged that Swiatek’s sports psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, requested warm chicken in the morning, seemingly oblivious to the situation.
She continued, “We were literally handing out bread rolls for dinner, whatever we could get. And then, the next morning, I got a request from Iga Swiatek’s mental coach asking for warm chicken at 11am.
“I mean, I could start making a fire on a stone for you. Can’t you see what’s happening here? We were just glad to get by. There was still no electricity, but they already wanted warm chicken at 11am before the match.”
Swiatek’s conduct has come into question before. At last year’s Indian Wells, the former Wimbledon champion smashed a ball into the ground in frustration during a loss to Mirra Andreeva.
A nearby ball boy narrowly avoided being hit, and after a barrage of criticism online, she took to social media to try and respond to the “harsh judgements”.
While she apologised for her actions, Swiatek did fight her corner, saying, “When I’m highly focused and don’t show many emotions on court, I’m called a robot, my attitude labelled as inhuman. Now that I’m more expressive, showing feelings or struggling internally, I’m suddenly labelled immature or hysterical.
“That’s not a healthy standard – especially considering that just six months ago, I felt my career was hanging by a thread, spent three weeks crying daily, and didn’t want to step on the court.”
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