“Are we tennis players or animals in a zoo?”: Iga Swiatek calls for more privacy after Coco Gauff locker room video

Iga Swiatek addressed the controversy of Coco Gauff breaking a racket in the locker room, in footage that was widely shared on social media. The Polish player comes from a similar feeling after being defeated in the Australian Open quarterfinals by Elena Rybakina.

The world No. 2 lamented her defeat in the quarterfinals against Rybakina, once again leaving unfinished business in Melbourne. Swiatek lost control of a tight match, and Rybakina won 7 of the last 8 games to close it out.

For Swiatek, it was the end of the dream in Melbourne, where she had previously reached the semifinals twice, but has yet to make it to the final. It is the only major title she has not yet won, and her last goal to complete the Career Grand Slam—something for which she will have to wait another year for a new opportunity.

Rybakina, on the other hand, continues her remarkable form that she has carried since 2025, winning 18 of her last 19 matches and with consecutive titles in Ningbo and the WTA Finals. This time, the 2023 Australian Open runner-up appears as a serious candidate to claim her second Grand Slam title.

In the post-match press conference, Swiatek expressed her disappointment at the loss and insisted that the aspects of her game she needs to improve were already on her mind before the tournament. "Honestly, I know what I need to improve, and it's kind of the same stuff I had in mind before the tournament. So there's no breakthrough lesson. I'm just going to keep doing my job, and hopefully in the next tournament, I'll get some things settled in terms of what I want to do with my game," she said.

Rybakina also managed to even up the head-to-head record, which was previously in Swiatek's favor, and now stands at 6-6. Their recent clashes were on hard courts: at Cincinnati Open, Swiatek won in the semifinals, while in the WTA Finals, Rybakina took revenge in the Round Robin stage. On both occasions, the winner ultimately claimed the title.

"I didn’t serve as well as, I don’t know, in Cincinnati against Elena, for example," Swiatek explained. "My serve was kind of normal, and sometimes it could have given me a bit more. In the first set, I think it was the difference of a couple of points, and she also gave me some chances on her serve. Sometimes I used them, sometimes I didn’t."

"In the second set, the pace from her got higher, she was more precise, and maybe I dropped my intensity at the beginning. There are some things I want to work on. Playing on these fast courts has never been flawless for me, so I’ll try again next time."

After a close first set against Rybakina—in which it seemed it would go to a tiebreak—Swiatek succumbed to a break at 5-6 and ended up losing the set. She had struggled with Rybakina's first serves but had managed to stay alive in the score. After the late break, however, she never regained control in the second set, while Rybakina elevated her first serves and produced several aces under pressure.

"It’s her game. I wasn’t surprised; I already had that feeling against her," Swiatek commented. "You have to focus on yourself and your service games, but my serve wasn’t the best, so it was hard to keep the score even in the second set."

"Some technical stuff has been tough for me to smooth out. For example, I see Carlos changing his serve every year, but for me, one little thing takes much longer. There are some things on the serve I want to change," the six-time major champion added. "I started adjusting them in the preseason, but in matches, you don’t have time to think about these details—you don’t want to during play. So you fall back into old patterns. I’ll focus on that and see from there. There are things I can change to play better, and I’ll try to do that in the next weeks and months."

Another topic discussed was recent comments by Aryna Sabalenka, who said she prefers to take time off from tournaments if she feels she has something to adjust in her game. Swiatek was asked if she would consider taking time off from competition to work on specific aspects of her game.

"I don’t feel it’s possible in this short period between tournaments. Last year, I had trouble making this decision, but this year I’m trying to change my approach," Swiatek explained. "I think we’ll skip some 1000 tournaments. I’ve never been in this position, so I don’t know the result, but I think it’s necessary. If you want to improve, you need some time. If I just want to stay the same and prepare for every tournament, I can do that too. But to improve, it would be nice to have some time, and unfortunately, the calendar doesn’t allow it."

Recently, videos surfaced of Coco Gauff breaking a racket in the locker room after being captured by television cameras following her defeat by Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals. Swiatek was asked if there should be areas without recording, allowing players more privacy.

"The question is: are we tennis players or animals in a zoo, observed even when we… well, that’s exaggerating, obviously," said the six-time Grand Slam champion. "But it would be nice to have privacy and your own process, not always be observed. In other sports, maybe there are technical things you want to do privately. I don’t follow other sports much, but having a space to do that without the whole world watching would be nice."

At Wimbledon, there are courts where accredited people can go, but without fans. Some tournaments make it impossible; you’re constantly observed, either by fans or cameras. It’s not simple. We’re tennis players; we’re meant to be watched on court and in the press. It’s not our job to be a meme when we forget accreditation. People will talk, but for us, it’s unnecessary. Talking to the tournament about it? What’s the point?"