{"id":434706,"date":"2026-01-28T11:57:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T11:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/434706\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T11:57:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T11:57:09","slug":"iga-swiatek-calls-for-player-privacy-at-australian-open-after-coco-gauff-smashes-racket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/434706\/","title":{"rendered":"Iga Swiatek\u00a0calls for player privacy at Australian Open after Coco Gauff smashes racket"},"content":{"rendered":"

World number two Iga\u00a0Swiatek\u00a0joined a growing chorus of players demanding more privacy off the courts at the Australian Open after cameras captured Coco Gauff in a post-match meltdown<\/a> that the American said should have been a personal moment.<\/p>\n

The incident occurred after Gauff\u2019s\u00a059-minute quarter-final defeat\u00a0by Elina Svitolina, when the American retreated behind a wall near the match call area deep in the bowels of the stadium to repeatedly smash her racket on the ground.<\/p>\n

Unbeknownst to the third seed, cameras recorded her every move and the video was broadcast to viewers around the world, with\u00a0Gauff saying she was unhappy\u00a0that there was no privacy anywhere except the locker room.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question is, are we tennis players or are we animals in the zoo, where they are observed even when they poop?\u201d\u00a0Swiatek\u00a0told reporters after\u00a0she lost\u00a07-5 6-1 to Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, that was exaggerating obviously, but it would be nice to have some privacy. It would be nice also to have your own process and not always be observed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elina Svitolina is congratulated by Coco Gauff following their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, on Jan. 27, 2026. AP<\/p>\n

World number two Iga\u00a0Swiatek\u00a0said, \u201cIt would be nice to have some privacy\u201d after cameras captured Coco Gauff in a post-match meltdown. Mike Frey-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

American Amanda Anisimova also said she knew players did not have much privacy at Melbourne Park, adding that she \u201ckept my head down\u201d until she reached the locker room.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are good moments obviously that people see and that\u2019s fun. Then, when you lose, there are probably not-so-good moments,\u201d Anisimova said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe video of Coco that was posted, it\u2019s tough, because she didn\u2019t have a say in that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018INVASION OF PRIVACY\u2019<\/p>\n

American compatriot Jessica Pegula said off-court camera coverage is something the tournament needs to cut back on, adding that it seemed to be worse this year as they felt like they were being constantly filmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was, like, \u2018Can you just let the girls have like a moment to themselves?’\u201d Pegula said. \u201cCoco wasn\u2019t wrong when she said the only (safe) place is the locker room, which is crazy. You\u2019re just going about your day.<\/p>\n

Coco Gauff slams her rackett in a \u201cprivate\u201d moment following the loss. @TheTennisLetter\/X<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw online people were zooming in on players\u2019 phones and stuff like that. That\u2019s so unnecessary, I just think it\u2019s really an invasion of privacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re on the court on TV. You come inside, you\u2019re on TV. Literally, the only time you\u2019re not being recorded is when you are going to shower and go to the bathroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

STARK CONTRAST TO OTHER MAJORS<\/p>\n

Top players are finding themselves under constant surveillance, with\u00a0Swiatek\u00a0highlighting the stark contrast between tournaments.<\/p>\n

Swiatek, who also went viral in a clip when she was not allowed inside the venue after forgetting her accreditation, noted that other Grand Slams like the French Open and Wimbledon provide sanctuary areas off-limits to cameras and fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some spaces that you can at least go when you need to. But there are some tournaments where it\u2019s impossible and you are constantly observed, if not by the fans \u2026 then by the cameras,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Swiatek, who lost to Elena Rybakina on Wednesday, went viral in a clip when she was not allowed inside an Australian Open venue after forgetting her accreditation. Mike Frey-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\u201cFor sure, it\u2019s not simple. I don\u2019t think it should be like that because we\u2019re tennis players. We\u2019re meant to be watched on the court and in the press.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not our job (to) be a meme when you forget your accreditation. Oh, it\u2019s funny, for sure. People have something to talk about, but for us I don\u2019t think it\u2019s necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked whether she had spoken to the tournament\u2019s organizers about the subject,\u00a0Swiatek\u00a0shrugged and said: \u201cWhat\u2019s the point?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"World number two Iga\u00a0Swiatek\u00a0joined a growing chorus of players demanding more privacy off the courts at the Australian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434707,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[12083,5113,2660,99,428,5417],"class_list":["post-434706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-australian-open","tag-coco-gauff","tag-iga-swiatek","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-tennis-match"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}