"Beef between Iga Swiatek & Taylor Fritz is perfect" - Tennis fans react to Indian Wells defending champions' cold handshake at Eisenhower Cup

Iga Swiatek gave a cold handshake to Taylor Fritz after the Eisenhower Cup Tiebreak Tens final, supposedly in reaction to the American hitting a body shot at her during the match. Tennis fans were quick to show their support for the Pole and criticized Fritz for the incident.

Swiatek teamed up with Hubert Hurkacz for Team Poland, and the pair took on Team Forehand Fear comprising Fritz and Aryna Sabalenka in the final. The prize on the line was a $200,000 donation to a charity of the winner's choice.

During the match, Taylor Fritz hit a powerful return straight at Iga Swiatek, who was barely able to dodge it in time.

Sabalenka and Fritz emerged victorious, with the score reading 10-8 at the end of the encounter. While exchanging handshakes at the net, Swiatek gave a very quick and cold one to Taylor Fritz.

Tennis fans jumped in to share their reactions to the incident. One fan claimed that an exhibition match causing issues between Indian Wells' two defending champions was 'perfect' for the event's entertainment value.

"An exhibition leading to beef between Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz is perfect, actually. This is what the phrase “good for tennis” was made for," the fan wrote.

Another fan chimed in to say they would be cheering for Swiatek to defend her title successfully, and rooting against Fritz - who they felt would be ousted from the tournament early at the hands of Ben Shelton.

"And when Iga defends IW whereas Frizz loses to Shelton we will be cheering," the fan wrote.

Here are some more reactions to the incident:

Iga Swiatek glad to be back at "tennis paradise" in Indian Wells

Swiatek won Indian Wells 2022

Iga Swiatek defeated Maria Sakkari in the 2022 BNP Paribas Open final to lift the then-third WTA 1000 trophy of her career. The Pole expressed her happiness at being back at the tournament, which she deemed a "tennis paradise."

"Peaceful mornings, a lot of work done every single day, beautiful landscape... So, so good to be back in tennis paradise!" she tweeted.

In 2022, Swiatek backed up her performance at Indian Wells with another title run at the Miami Open the following week. That made her the youngest player ever to win the Sunshine Double.

atek will be looking to defend both her titles in 2023 and become part of an exclusive group - comprising legends like Steffi Graf, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic - to have won the Sunshine Double twice.