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Iga Swiatek faced criticism after sharing the reasoning behind her third-round loss to Yulia Putintseva in the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. In other news, Coco Gauff's coach Brad Gilbert landed in hot water after suggesting the American would've triumphed at the French Open if Naomi Osaka had beaten Iga Swiatek.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray's mother Judy received criticism for seemingly taking a dig at Emma Raducanu after her late withdrawal from the Wimbledon mixed doubles. Andrey Rublev drew concerns for his self-harming behavior after injuring his knee with furious racket smash at SW19.
Also, Frances Tiafoe sparked outrage for calling his opponents "clowns" after his Wimbledon first-round victory. Taylor Fritz confronted Arthur Rinderknech for his "whining" remarks in a fiery exchange after winning their second-round match.
On that note, here's a recap of the top controversies from last week:
Iga Swiatek criticized after shedding light on her 3R loss to Yulia Putintseva at Wimbledon
Iga Swiatek was criticized for the reasoning behind her 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 loss to Yulia Putintseva in the third round at Wimbledon.
After Putintseva won five consecutive games to take the second set, Swiatek's extended break left Putintseva waiting on the court and drew boos from the Centre Court crowd upon her return.
Fans expressed their displeasure on social media and criticized Swiatek for blaming her loss on a lack of rest after the French Open during the post-match press conference.
"I know what I did wrong after Roland Garros. I didn't really rest properly. I'm not going to make this mistake again and after such a tough claycourt season, I really messed up my recovery," Iga Swiatek said.
Coco Gauff's coach faced backlash for claiming the American would've won the French Open if Naomi Osaka defeated Iga Swiatek
Coco Gauff's coach Brad Gilbert was criticized for suggesting the American would have won the 2024 French Open if Naomi Osaka had defeated eventual champion Iga Swiatek in their second-round nail-biter.
Gauff lost 6-2, 6-4 to Swiatek in the semifinals, but Gilbert argued she would have won the title if Osaka had converted a match point against Swiatek during her 7-6 (1), 1-6, 7-5 loss.
"Let me tell you if Naomi wins that match point against Iga at Roland Garros, Coco was winning that tournament," Gilbert said.
Fans disapproved of Gilbert's claim and expressed their criticism on social media.
Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka were both eliminated by the same opponent during the ongoing Wimbledon Championships. 19th seed Emma Navarro defeated Gauff 6-4, 6-3 in the fourth round, and handed a 6-4, 6-1 defeat to Osaka in the second round.
Andy Murray's mother Judy called out for seemingly shading Emma Raducanu after her last-minute withdrawal from Wimbledon mixed-doubles
Andy Murray’s mother Judy faced criticism for apparently taking a dig at Emma Raducanu for withdrawing from the mixed doubles second round at Wimbledon. Murray had already withdrawn from the singles competition and received a tearful farewell on Center Court after his final doubles match with his brother Jamie.
Raducanu and Murray were scheduled to play against Marcelo Arevalo and Shuai Zhang on July 6, in what would have been the latter's final home tournament run before retirement. However, Raducanu, recovering from wrist surgeries last year, pulled out hours before the match due to stiffness in her right wrist.
Judy Murray expressed surprise at Raducanu's withdrawal, calling it "astonishing," which angered tennis fans online.
Amid growing controversy, Judy Murray defended her comment, claiming it was meant sarcastically.
"Not sure anyone understands sarcasm these days. Pretty sure the scheduling (4th match court 1 with a singles following day) will have played a major part in any decision making."
Emma Raducanu, who cruised past Renata Zarazua, Elise Mertens, and ninth seed Maria Sakkari at the ongoing Wimbledon Championships, couldn't sustain her form for long as she lost 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 to Lulu Sun in the Round of 16.
Andrey Rublev's self-harming act at Wimbledon sparked worry as a racket smash led to knee injury
Andrey Rublev raised concerns over his self-harm behavior after bloodying his knee by repeatedly smashing his racket in frustration during his 4-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-7(5) loss to Francisco Comesana at Wimbledon opener.
Trailing 1-3 in the third set, Rublev made an unforced error after missing a backhand return, leading to his angry outburst.
Frances Tiafoe received backlash for 'losing to clowns' comment following Wimbledon 1R victory
Frances Tiafoe sparked controversy for his "losing to clowns" comment while discussing his recent on-court struggles on tour.
After a hard-fought 6-7(5), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Matteo Arnaldi in the Wimbledon first round, Tiafoe expressed frustration about his drop in the rankings and mentioned his struggles with defeats to lesser opponents during his tough times.
"It’s brutal. Highs and lows. Think about where I’m at. Literally this week last year I was 10 in the world and now I’m barely seeded here (at Wimbledon). Losing to clowns, I hate to say it but I’m just gonna be honest," Frances Tiafoe said.
The American's statement received criticism from tennis fans, who viewed it as disrespectful towards other players.
Taylor Fritz blasts Arthur Rinderknech for his ‘disrespectful’ comments on ‘whining’ after a tense exchange at the net during Wimbledon 2R
Taylor Fritz confronted Arthur Rinderknech at the net over what he deemed as "disrespectful" remarks made by the Frenchman before their second-round match at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
Following a previous meeting in Paris where Fritz had shushed jeering fans after defeating Rinderknech, the Frenchman criticized him for complaining about crowd support, implying the American would face less adversity at Wimbledon.
After Fritz secured a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory, tensions escalated with a heated exchange at the net. Rinderknech approached Fritz's bench to continue the discussion, but the latter quickly ended it, citing the former's awareness of his previous actions that had provoked fan hostility.
Later, Fritz sarcastically wished Rinderknech a pleasant journey home, shedding light on their contentious exchange and expressing dissatisfaction with Rinderknech's pre-match comments.
"As soon as I saw it, the match was basically over. I'm a very chill person. I don't do anything that could rub people the wrong way, so when someone kind of just goes out of their way to take a shot at me, then I'm not just going to take it. It gave me the extra fire to win. When we shook hands, I just said have a nice flight home," Fritz said (via tennis journalist Gaspar Ribeiro Lanca).
13th seed Taylor Fritz has now reached the Round of 16 at SW19, where he will take on fourth seed Alexander Zverev on July 8.
