Iga Swiatek hopes her hand-waving controversy "will never happen again"
The world No. 1 told Sport.pl the gesture is an "involuntary reaction" to stressful moments.
Iga Swiatek has commented on the controversy around the hand-waving gesture she has used on court, saying she doesn't do it deliberately.
The 21-year-old from Poland waved her arms at net during a point in an apparent attempt to distract Donna Vekic in the San Diego final and against Lauren Davis at the US Open.
"I can't control it, but I hope it will never happen again. We are working on it," she told Sport.pl in an interview. "It is an involuntary reaction. I did it during the US Open, and as I recall, it was a stressful moment."
Swiatek, who apologized to Vekic on social media following the final, said she had done it "unconsciously'' and Vekic "didn't recall" the incident when they had spoken on court.
"I approached Donna and I apologized," said Swiatek. "She had no hard feelings."
She also hopes fans will understand what happened.
"I'm aware of the many negative comments on the internet regarding this incident. I'm not proud of the fact that sometimes, I am not in control of what I do on the court," said Swiatek.
The top-ranked player in the women's game since April 4 this year, she admits that her new status has created pressure in other ways. Having dominated the tour the first half of the season, winning six tournaments in a row including Roland Garros, Swiatek had a small lull before bouncing back to win the US Open.
"I felt I had to keep up in the second half of the season. I felt I had to play at least at the same level," she said. " That's when the grass courts came into play. That made me a bit uneasy and I had to readjust, both in terms of playing matches and being on tour, in general.
"With the help of my team, I won the US Open, I lowered my expectations, and that released some pressure."
Swiatek will next play the WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas. She has won eight titles in 2022.