The former world No 9 claimed Swiatek makes excuses when she loses matches rather than congratulating her opponents.
This is the second time Swiatek has come under fire from a retired Russian ATP player in recent weeks after former world No 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov asserted she deserves “to get paid a lot less.”
Kafelnikov took issue with the fact Swiatek highlighted the demanding tennis schedule and argued there are “too many tournaments” during the Cincinnati Open.
The Polish star was also accused of using bathroom breaks as a tactic to disrupt opponents by former American WTA players Lindsay Davenport and Coco Vandeweghe. Davenport, a former world No 1, labelled the perceived tactic a “bad habit.”
Andrei Chesnokov, who won seven ATP singles titles in a career spanning from 1985 to 1999, has become the latest and surely most brutal critic of Swiatek.
The only tennis player I don’t like is Iga Swiatek,” the 58-year-old was quoted as saying by We Love Tennis.
“The best women’s match last season was the final in Madrid. Swiatek lost to Aryna Sabalenka and didn’t say a single kind word about the final. When she lost, everything was going wrong for her. She had a headache, she was sick.
“Nadal, every time he loses to Djokovic, says that Djokovic played very well and congratulates him.
“She never says anything. For her, there is only one person in the world. Her. The others are, to say the least, nothing and nobody.”
