Danielle Collins confronted Iga Swiatek during their most recent meeting.
Danielle Collins confronted Iga Swiatek after retiring from their Olympics clash (Image: Getty)
Danielle Collins has addressed her spat with Iga Swiatek after retiring injured during their Olympics clash over the summer.
The American appeared to confront the world No. 2 as they shook hands and later said: “I don’t need the fakeness.”
Collins has now given an update after being asked whether she had spoken to Swiatek to clear the air.
Collins enjoyed a career highlight over the summer, becoming an Olympian. In her first appearance at the Games, world No. 11 reached the quarter-final but had to retire.
The American forced a decider after losing the first set but she picked up an abdominal injury and forfeited the match with Swiatek leading. As they shook hands at the end of the match, both women found themselves involved in a heated conversation.
“I told Iga she didn’t have to be insincere about my injury,” Collins later recalled. “There’s a lot that happens on camera, and there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma and come out and are one way on camera and another way in the locker room.
“I just haven’t had the best experience, and I don’t really feel like anybody needs to be insincere. They can be the way that they are. I can accept that, and I don’t need the fakeness.”
Danielle Collins is back in action at the BJK Cup this week (Image: Getty)
Meanwhile, Swiatek admitted she didn’t know what Collins meant but said she wouldn’t argue. More than three months later, the 30-year-old has now addressed their disagreement and admitted she could have taken a “different approach”.
“I think what happened on the court is very much just like sometimes people have friction at work,” the former Australian Open finalist told The Athletic. “For most people, it’s not on the news.
“I’m trying to be the best person that I can be, but that’s not to say that I don’t fall short of that. I could have taken a different approach and done some things differently. But we had a moment there on court.”
But the two tennis stars still haven’t properly spoken since. “She’s not someone that I really get to see a lot at the tennis and she’s very guarded with her group,” Collins added.