(VIDEO) "He is clearly drunk, can you kick him out?" - Iga Swiatek protests about 'drunk' fan enroute to WTA Finals exit

Iga Swiatek's WTA Finals clash against Amanda Anisimova started positively when she clinched a first set tiebreaker. Despite this, not everything was going her way, with the Pole frustrated with a certain 'drunk' fan shouting during the serves.

It was a must win match for both players, who went into it targeting second in the group. A ruthless Elena Rybakina had already wrapped up top spot, sweeping both Swiatek and Anisimova aside enroute to the semi-finals. There was now the question of who would join them.

In a very closely contested first set, it went all the way to a tiebreaker where Swiatek took full command ahead of taking a one-set advantage. It was not all positive for the six-time Grand Slam champion, who was starting to get rattled by a specific fan who she claimed was shouting during the serve. This should be a period where you could hear a pin drop, but it would not be the case.

After sneaking ahead, the 24-year-old explained the situation to the chair umpire. "He is clearly drunk, can you kick him out?" Swiatek said. "He is disturbing the game, he is shouting during the second serve." Her pleas were not sympathised with the umpire, who replied: "I cannot kick him out for that, I will see if we can talk to him,' the chair umpire responded." Swiatek was not happy with the situation, as she tried to argue her case once more. "Why he is disturbing the game, he is shouting between first and second serves," she stated.

Her case went unnoticed, and what followed was an inspired comeback by the American. The pair played some phenomenal tennis in the second set, but the two-time Grand Slam runner-up would punish Swiatek for three missed break point opportunities and clinch her first right at the end of the second set to level affairs. She would continue her upturn in form over the world number two by racing out into a 4-1 lead in the deciding set before claiming her first match point to confirm her place in the semi-finals on debut at the WTA Finals.

If it was the fan getting into her head, or if it was just being outclassed by a brilliant Anisimova, it is a disappointing way for Swiatek's season to close. She has not been at her absolute best throughout, with just sprinkles of excellence throughout, reminding once in a while her quality to everyone.

These moments were topped by her exceptional triumph at Wimbledon, where Anisimova was the victim of a 6-0, 6-0 drubbing from a ruthless Swiatek, who had never been known as a grass player before this event. It was just the thing to get her season up and running after a barren clay swing which saw lift zero titles, reach zero finals and even lose her mesmeric Roland Garros win-streak to world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals.

After Wimbledon, she went on to clinch the Cincinnati Open title, another reason to believe that the Pole was back to her imperious best, which was disturbingly worrying news for all her rivals. While this should have included Anisimova, it did not show on court with the American claiming a sensational win over her in the quarter-finals of the US Open, acting revenge for the Wimbledon final.

Her Asian swing was very unrewarding, with eyes on the prize in Riyadh. She started brilliantly, demolishing a lacklustre Madison Keys. After clinching the first set against Rybakina, she only won just one game for the rest of the match. This put all the pressure on the 2023 champion not to make it back-to-back Round Robin exits. This turned out to be her fate, ending an up and down season for Swiatek.