"Why do you publish fake news?": Swiatek hits back after clay court specialist comments

Iga Swiatek criticized a post by We Are Tennis that misinterpreted her statement about Rafael Nadal.

After Swiatek's victory over Lesia Tsurenko in the Rome Open, winning 6-2, 6-0, the Polish player was asked about the concept of being a "clay court specialist" and whether she believes it still exists or should be considered a thing of the past

“Well, I think if we want to be the best in tennis, you have to play well on all these surfaces. I'm lucky enough to have the grass court season only for three weeks, but I'm still getting it. I know it's an important part of the tour and I should be better at it," the world No. 1 said.

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The 3-time Grand Slam champion has expressed her admiration for Rafael Nadal on multiple occasons. In this instance, she took the 14-time French Open champion as an example:

"For sure I feel like, yeah, you should be good on all surfaces. As you could see, Rafa, he's called clay court specialist, but he won so many tournaments on hard court and grass as well. The goal is to be good everywhere,” she said.

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The news page We Are Tennis was not accurate in sharing Swiatek's statement, making it seem like the 2-time French Open champion aims to win as much as Nadal.

"Like me, Rafael Nadal is considered a clay-court specialist, but he has won everything on hard courts and on grass. The goal is to win everything like Rafael Nadal."

The Polish player saw the post on social media and responded to the "fake news" given by the website.

"I didn't say this. Why do you publish fake news?" Swiatek respond.

Iga Świątek

@iga_swiatek

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Replying to @WeAreTennis

I didn't say this. Why do you publish fake news?

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