"They diagnosed me with mental health disorders": Iga Swiatek condemns Polish media for 'crazy rumours' during her absence

Iga Swiatek harshly criticised the Polish media for the rumours that spread a few months ago during her absence from the Asian Swing. A few months back, the 5-time Grand Slam champion was scheduled to compete in the China Open and Wuhan Open but mysteriously withdrew before the tournaments began.

During that time, it was also revealed that she had parted ways with her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, which Swiatek indicated was one of the reasons for not travelling to Asia. Many rumours about her health surfaced in Polish media, which the player strongly disagreed with.

Swiatek was absent from the Tour for nearly two months, last competing on 4 September, when she was defeated in the US Open quarterfinals by Jessica Pegula. She returned to the courts on 3 November with a victory over Barbora Krejcikova at the WTA Finals.

Rumours ranged from the Pole experiencing burnout to taking a mental health break. It wasn’t until late November that Swiatek publicly revealed she had tested positive for doping and had accepted a one-month suspension after the ITIA determined there was no fault on her part.

The world No. 2 recently spoke on Caroline Garcia’s Tennis Insider Club Podcast, where she addressed the rumours spread by Polish media during her absence: "I think, honestly, now I had the toughest situation with media and how they approached me in Poland because abroad, like, there was nothing. I didn't play China swing this year, obviously because of my case, now everybody knows that, but before, they didn't."

"And, abroad, nobody said a word about it. Like, it was fine for them that I maybe took time off. But in Poland, it got crazy. Like, media, they diagnosed me with mental health disorders like I suddenly had depression."

"I was burned out. I was, you know, firing everybody from my team. Like, suddenly they wrote these articles, like clickbait titles as well, that there's something wrong with me because I didn't play two tournaments,” the 4-time French Open champion added. "After we announced that I have this case, everybody suddenly understood, you know, but during this time when they didn't know, it was tough because I was literally battling my toughest battle that I ever had, and not feeling well."

"Polish media was kind of after me, why I didn't play two tournaments. So, so the hate was, was big and, everybody's, like, instantly judging. I think they are writing stuff that they would never say to our faces. So, now I guess it's part of the job. It shouldn't be that way."