World number two Iga Swiatek has been criticized for smashing a ball at a ball kid in her Indian Wells semi-final.
The tennis star lost her temper as Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva was blown out of the tournament, beating the defending champion 7-6 1-6 6-3 to reach the Indian Wells final for the first time.
Amid a difficult outing for Swiatek, she was thrown the ball by the ball kid as she was on serve.
Swiatek responded by smashing the ball back into the ground towards the ball kid, with it just evading him as it bounced into the crowd.
The ball kid flinched as the ball rocketed towards him but didn't react more than that, continuing to signal that he was available to provide a ball.
The smash elicited a hostile reaction from those in attendance, who booed the Polish player.
Swiatek would not redeem herself on the court as she crashed out of the competition, with Andreeva able to bounce back from losing the second set to seal the win.
'After she killed me in the second set I thought, okay, I'll just try to fight,' Andreeva said on court. There is not much I could do about it, she was playing amazing. I just decided to fight for every point.
'It doesn't matter how I put the ball in but I have to put it in. In the end it wasn't too bad.'
Swiatek is enduring a torrid time on the court and has lost all five of her semi-final appearances since winning the French Open last June.
Andreeva, meanwhile, has now won 11 straight matches and sets up a final against world number one Aryna Sabalenka on Sunday.
Sabalenka avenged her Australian Open final defeat to Madison Keys in the other semi-final, defeating the American who bested her in Melbourne for the 2025 title.
She progressed ruthlessly flying to a 6-1 6-0 victory that took just 51 minutes to complete.
The tennis star lost her temper as Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva was blown out of the tournament, beating the defending champion 7-6 1-6 6-3 to reach the Indian Wells final for the first time.
Amid a difficult outing for Swiatek, she was thrown the ball by the ball kid as she was on serve.
Swiatek responded by smashing the ball back into the ground towards the ball kid, with it just evading him as it bounced into the crowd.
The ball kid flinched as the ball rocketed towards him but didn't react more than that, continuing to signal that he was available to provide a ball.
The smash elicited a hostile reaction from those in attendance, who booed the Polish player.
Swiatek would not redeem herself on the court as she crashed out of the competition, with Andreeva able to bounce back from losing the second set to seal the win.
'After she killed me in the second set I thought, okay, I'll just try to fight,' Andreeva said on court. There is not much I could do about it, she was playing amazing. I just decided to fight for every point.
'It doesn't matter how I put the ball in but I have to put it in. In the end it wasn't too bad.'
Swiatek is enduring a torrid time on the court and has lost all five of her semi-final appearances since winning the French Open last June.
Andreeva, meanwhile, has now won 11 straight matches and sets up a final against world number one Aryna Sabalenka on Sunday.
Sabalenka avenged her Australian Open final defeat to Madison Keys in the other semi-final, defeating the American who bested her in Melbourne for the 2025 title.
She progressed ruthlessly flying to a 6-1 6-0 victory that took just 51 minutes to complete.
Category
đ„
Sports