"A great role model": Martina Navratilova comes out in defence of Iga Swiatek after targeted by online trolls following Madrid Open semifinal defeat

Former world number one Martina Navratilova has defended Poland’s Iga Swiatek after she was trolled on social media. The 23-year-old, who is widely regarded as one of the best players currently playing in women’s tennis in the singles category, is going through a rough patch according to her high standards.

Swiatek has not won any title since lifting the French Open in 2024. This year, she has not even managed to cement a spot in the final of any event despite featuring in seven of them. Interestingly, she appeared in the quarterfinals of every competition and even played in the semifinal on four occasions, but in every one of them, she came second-best.

Those results clearly seem to impact Swiatek, who burst into tears during her most recent semifinal defeat against America’s Coco Gauff at the Madrid Open, where the one-time Grand Slam winner came out on top in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-1. A fan on social media responded to a video shared by another where Swiatek can be seen crying while having a towel on her face during the semifinal of the Madrid Open and trolled the former world number one.

"I am grateful Coco did her job and moved into the Final. Iga seems to think she can be no.1 all the time, time for her to learn some humility," the user wrote. In response to that, the former world number one Navratilova responded: "Nasty much? Yup…,". In response to that, the user responded by stating: "No Martina, I'm honest, it's a shame she lost her grandfather.” Navratilova was having none of it asked the fan to stop moral policing a player who has been a ‘humble champion’ throughout her career. "No clue what you’re talking about regarding Iga. She has always been a humble champion and a great role model. So stop with this humility BS," she wrote.