{"id":442462,"date":"2026-01-28T07:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T07:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/442462\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T07:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T07:44:08","slug":"iga-swiatek-defends-coco-gauff-smashing-racquets-after-quarter-final-loss-wants-more-privacy-compares-media-focus-to-zoo-press-conference-latest-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/442462\/","title":{"rendered":"Iga Swiatek defends Coco Gauff smashing racquets after quarter final loss, wants more privacy, compares media focus to zoo, press conference, latest news"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>World No.2 Iga Swiatek on Wednesday backed Coco Gauff\u2019s call for more privacy during tournaments, saying players sometimes feel \u201clike animals in the zoo where they are observed, even when they poop\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Third seed Gauff was upset when cameras caught her smashing her racquet in the depths of the stadium on Tuesday after she was beaten in the Australian Open quarter-finals.<\/p>\n<p>Watch the biggest Aussie sports &amp; the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? <a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au?pg=default&amp;extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkgeneric-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-grc-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra&amp;voucher=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768365730_454_poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The American was trying to find somewhere private to let out her frustrations, rather than doing so on court in front of fans including children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI tried to go somewhere where they wouldn\u2019t broadcast it, but obviously they did,\u201d said Gauff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo maybe some conversations can be had because I feel like at this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The vision saw 24-time Grand Slam legend Serena Williams post on X (formerly known as Twitter) with a light-hearted comment suggesting she\u2019ll show Gauff how to destroy her racquet in just \u201cone swipe\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Swiatek, who was also bundled out of the quarter-finals in Melbourne by Elena Rybakina, said back-stage cameras could be too intrusive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe question is, are we tennis players, or are we animals in the zoo where they are observed even when they poop, you know?,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay, that was exaggerating obviously, but it would be nice to have some privacy. It would be nice also to, I don\u2019t know, have your own process and not always be observed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt would be nice to have some space where you can do that without the whole world watching.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Swiatek was caught up in her own off-court drama earlier in the week when she was denied access to an area in Melbourne Park because she was not wearing her accreditation.<\/p>\n<p>Gauff smashes racquet after loss | 00:12<\/p>\n<p>It was recorded on camera and the clip did the rounds on social media. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think it should be like that because we\u2019re tennis players,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re meant to be watched on the court and in the press. That\u2019s our job. It\u2019s not our job to be a meme when you forget your accreditation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, it\u2019s funny, yeah, for sure. People have something to talk about, but for us I don\u2019t think it\u2019s necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Swiatek\u2019s straight-sets loss to Rybakina denied her a career Grand Slam of all four majors. She has won four French Opens, the US Open and Wimbledon, but a title at Melbourne Park remains elusive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"World No.2 Iga Swiatek on Wednesday backed Coco Gauff\u2019s call for more privacy during tournaments, saying players sometimes&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442463,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[2095,64,63,689,6571,229953,3738,229746,11182,647,2041,2067,677,229740,229938,6413,229730,85,229952,747,29759,2614,660],"class_list":["post-442462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-america","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-open","tag-cheeky-advice","tag-fox-sports","tag-frustration-boil","tag-locker-room","tag-melbourne","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-oceania","tag-quarter-final-loss","tag-scenes-footage","tag-serena-williams","tag-smashes-racquet","tag-sports","tag-straight-sets-loss","tag-tennis","tag-tennis-players","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-victoria"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}