Iga Swiatek responds to viral Indian Wells ball boy incident

Iga Swiatek is giving her side of the story after a bounce heard around the world. The world No. 2 posted a lengthy statement to her Instagram account Monday where she took ownership of a viral outburst during her semifinal defeat to Mirra Andreeva at the BNP Paribas Open last week, placing the incident in the context of the mental strain she's experience since testing positive for a banned substance last year.

Overcome by frustration in her three-set semifinal loss to eventual champion Andreeva, Swiatek let things slip away in the decider in more ways than one: At one stage, she smacked a ball into the ground with her racquet in the direction of an awaiting ball boy, and the ball ricocheted off the court and into the stands as boos rained down from the stands.

The moment was criticized as it happened online by fans, as well as fans by Tennis Channel commentators Jason Goodall and Lindsay Davenport, as Swiatek narrowly avoided a default, and received coverage in numerous media outlets, including those that typically don't cover tennis, like *People* magazine.

One video showing the incident logged almost 4 million views on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Due to the furor, Swiatek said she wanted to address the incident, and how she's been feeling more broadly, despite saying she is "not comfortable explaining myself."

"I expressed frustration in a way I'm not proud of," she wrote. "My intention was never to aim the ball at anyone but merely to release my frustration by bouncing it on the ground.

"I immediately apologized to the ball boy, we made eye contact and nodded to each other when I expressed regret that it happened near him. I've seen many players bounce balls in frustration, and frankly, I didn't expect such harsh judgments.

"Usually, I control such impulses, so half-jokingly I can say I lack experience in this and misjudged my aim in the heat of the moment."

Swiatek's response to the incident was part of a larger confessional that placed increasingly tense on-court behavior—in Doha, she smashed a racquet in a loss to Jelena Ostapenko, and cut an irritated figure in a loss to Andreeva in Dubai as well—in the context of the impact of her positive doping test has had on her, where she admitted that she spent “three weeks crying daily.”

"[J]ust six months ago, I felt my career was hanging by a thread, spent three weeks crying daily, and didn’t want to step on the court," she said. "Today, after everything I’ve been through, I’m still processing and coming to terms with those experiences.

“Shifting perspective takes significant time, effort, and team support," she added, while pointing out double standards she feels she's been subjected to.

“When I’m highly focused and don’t show many emotions on the court, I’m called a robot, my attitude labeled as inhuman,” Swiatek said. “Now that I’m more expressive, showing feelings or struggling internally, I’m suddenly labeled as immature or hysterical. That’s not a healthy standard.”

An advocate for mental health and wellness for the entirety of her professional career, Swiatek said she remains committed to positive personal development, even in the face of falling short of expectations.

“Working on oneself isn’t something you achieve once and keep forever. Sometimes we take two steps forward and one step back,” Swiatek said. “It’s never easy, and it’s particularly challenging for me right now. … I truly believe that even if I occasionally take two steps forward and one step back, I’ll reach these goals at my own pace.”