Iga refuses to shake it off

Swiatek d. Elina Svitolina 6-3 1-6 6-3 in Toronto Iga reaches her 1st final of 2026 She’s also into her 1st Canadian Open final 14th WTA 1000 final 31st final of her career at 25 years old ✅1st final since Seoul 2025 ✅55th top 10 win Back in business 🇵🇱❤️

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— The Tennis Letter (@thetennisletter.bsky.social) August 12, 2026 at 9:36 PM

Iga Swiatek's musical idol, Taylor Swift, has given many gifts to her fans, not the least being a kind of dramatic permission for women to express anger. Even in this so-called "enlightened" and "feminist" age, women's anger is still largely considered something to be hidden. And while anger is an emotion--just like sadness, joy and fear--it's an emotion only when females feel and express it. Men can go into intense rages while accusing women of being "too emotional." (Remember when Marat Safin, who held--and probably still holds--the record for breaking the most rackets, called his sister, Dinara, "too emotional"?)

Swiatek, the former world number 1 who has experienced some tough times in the last year or so, has received the full female athlete treatment among "fans" and social media participants. She's boring (a ridiculous notion--the Polish star is actually a rather delightful, somewhat nerdish character), she's a cheater, she's a has-been, she needs cosmetic surgery, and--who can forget Jimmy Arias criticizing her for wearing a baseball cap because, with the cap on, we can't see her....smile!!?

Last year, many people considered Swiatek "done," but then she went to London and won her first Wimbledon title. That didn't seem to make much of an impression, however, since the "done" talk started again this year. For a long time, there has been criticism of Swiatek's relationship with her sports psychologist, and various fans have projected various meanings onto that relationship. And when the Polish star began to visibly struggle with her emotions while on the court, even serious fans couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she needed a different professional to help her with mental strength and stability.

No one but Iga Swiatek knows whether she is receiving adequate psychological help, and (I'm speaking here as a retired mental health professional), she may not know, either. She changed her coach, and then she changed her coach again. And while that's not at all unusual among WTA players, it does indicate that Swiatek not only recognized that something was wrong, she was doing what she could to make it right. 

This week, the Polish star reached the first final of the season, a fact that still sounds odd, no matter how many times one hears it stated. She dropped only one set in Toronto--to Elina Svitolina--and she defeated Elena Rybakina in straight sets in the final. Granted, Rybakina was very tired because of the way her schedule had gone, but Swiatek nevertheless continued her run of excellent on-court performances.

The victory obviously meant a great deal to Iga, but she was feeling more than joy (the crowd had been screaming "Iga! Iga!") and relief. During the trophy ceremony, she said, "I’m really happy about this tournament. It means so, so much to me because all these past months were not easy. I’m really happy that I kept focusing on growing, changing my game a little bit, improving, despite all the opinions many people have about me every day on the  Internet, live." 

She continued:

"I want to dedicate this title to everyone who is dealing with unfair judgment and hate."

Later, Swiatek said that "After I won, I kind of let myself feel it [the anger] a little bit because there are plenty of things that athletes, not only athletes, all the people, have to struggle with.“ Sometimes we need to fight things that we shouldn’t."

I, for one, was glad to see Angry Iga make an appearance. Those who appreciate both Taylor and Iga will know that--it's no wonder she broke. Unfair judgment and hate are the fuels that make the Internet engine run, and female athletes (and Taylor Swift) are often the targets. It's gratifying to see a Mad Woman take a stand.