"People need to be nicer" - Mikaela Shiffrin shows support for Iga Swiatek after Pole receives hate comments for Cincinnati Open performances

American alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin recently defended Iga Swiatek after the Pole received hate comments during the 2023 Cincinnati Open.

Swiatek called for an end to online hatred after getting angry messages following her victory over Qinwen Zheng at the Cincinnati Open. She received abuse online after losing the first set in her 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory over the Chinese.

The World No.1 addressed the issue during a press conference, saying that while the match was not perfect from her perspective, people on the internet should be more careful about their comments and focus on the positive takeaways as well.

"Yes. Well, for sure today's match wasn't perfect. We all saw that. But the amount of hate and criticism that me and my team get after even losing a set is just ridiculous. I want to kind of encourage people to be more thoughtful when they comment on Internet," she said.

"It's kind of sad for me to see that people I work with and myself, we are really judged. I would like to, yeah, encourage people to be more thoughtful and to also focus on the positive side of what we are doing, because today, even though I didn't start the match well, I would love for people to see how I problem-solved and how I really got out of troubles," she added.

In light of this, Mikaela Shiffrin took to social media to express her support for the four-time Grand Slam champion.

"People need to be nicer. Period," Shiffrin wrote.

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"On the Internet, I feel like it's getting worse and worse, the hate and the amount of comments" - Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek pictured at a tennis tournament.

When asked if people ever see the "positive" side, Iga Swiatek responded that the hatred on the internet is growing worse by the day, with some comments being "mean."

"I think they do, but on the Internet I feel like it's getting worse and worse, the hate and the amount of, like, comments that are really, like, straightforward and sometimes even a little bit mean," she said.

The 2022 French Open champion also expressed her hope that these things would change and that the internet would be a better place if everyone worked together for the greater good.

"So I wish it could change, because I feel like the Internet is not going to be a safe place anymore for us to go and to read stuff. So, yeah, I just kind of wanted me and my team to be a little bit more respected sometimes," she said.

"But I also know that I'm not going to have 100% influence on what people are going to think or write. I just think the world and the Internet could be a better place if we all kind of work on that," she added.

Swiatek has progressed to the semifinals in Cincinnati, where she is set to face Coco Gauff on Saturday, August 19.