Tennis: Swiatek criticises heckling at French Open

After the second-round thriller, Iga Swiatek first praised the unfortunate loser Naomi Osaka, then Poland’s tennis star addressed the largely French audience in Court Philippe Chatrier with critical words. It is “very difficult to stay focused,” said the 22-year-old in an interview on the court, “when you shout something during the rally or just before the return.”

Before Swiatek, other players had already complained about heckling from the crowd during the French Open. The three-time Grand Slam tournament winner Angelique Kerber, for example, was interrupted by a heckling during her first-round loss to the Dutch player Arantxa Rus when she was on set point and complained to the chair umpire.

It was “hard to accept that,” said world number one Swiatek, explaining: “This is serious for us. We fight our whole lives to get better and better.” She hoped “that you still like me,” Swiatek said to the audience, because French fans can sometimes “pick out players they don’t like and then boo them. But I love you and I always love playing here. So let’s keep doing that.” These statements were met with mainly applause from the stands.

Hard-fought match

In sporting terms, the duel with the Japanese Osaka, which she won 7:6 (7:1), 1:6, 7:5, was a tough piece of work. The defending champion fought back from a 2:5 deficit in the third set and also fended off a match point against herself. “Naomi played incredible tennis and took a lot of risks,” said the three-time French Open winner: “I’m happy that she’s back and playing so well.”

Osaka (26), who was in the second round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since returning from maternity leave, was at least on a par with Swiatek. Eurosport expert Boris Becker also enthused: “She’s back.”