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Iga Swiatek recently addressed the appalling news about Miroslaw Skrzypczynski – the president of the Polish Tennis Association.
Skrzypczynski, who used to be a tennis coach, was accused of molesting underage players, beating his daughter and abusing his ex-wife. More recently, Polish MP Katarzyna Kotula came forward with similar allegations against the tennis association’s president.
World No. 1 Swiatek, who hails from Poland, was sickened by the news and took to social media to speak about it while expressing her concerns about the mental well-being of the victims.
“I feel that as a current leader of women’s tennis I can’t be silent about particular matters. Considering my sensitivity, knowledge, boundaries and strength I have at the moment to support people who suffer or encourage you to do something, like taking care about our mental health. And that’s why I know that, when it comes to physical violence or emotional abuse, the most important issue is think and being sensitive about victims. And when we speak up about something wrong happening, we need to think about them first and most of all,” Iga Swiatek wrote.
“I’m against violence in sports, in tennis, in every discipline and in everyday life. That’s why I consider the articles about the president of the Polish Tennis Association as a serious matter. Governing bodies should determine what happened and I hope they will take care of this case after the media wrote about the stories of people who they talked with. This is not my role to do the work of governing bodies and journalists as the matter is too serious and it’s about people’s life and health,” she expressed.
The 21-year-old Pole further noted that it is essential that victims look for help and not stay silent about their suffering.
“What I feel I can do is to encourage you to look for help when something bad happens in sports communities and in every situation in life when there is a possibility that someone can suffer from physical violence or emotional abuse. If someone suffers because of it, the most important thing is to take care of themselves and seek support, e.g. there are hotlines and organizations helping people who suffer because of violence,” she said, “This can be my role and this is how I can use my influence here - being a voice who tries to educate and remind that the most significant thing is to look for help when you need it.”
"I'm grateful for my Dad and for how wisely he manages my career" – Iga Swiatek on having a protective father
Iga Swiatek further noted that she was lucky to be raised in a protective environment by her father and to have the right people around.
The three-time Grand Slam champion was hopeful that, with incidents such as that of Miroslaw Skrzypczynski coming to light, the right course of action would be implemented and recurrences would be prevented.
"Personally, I was lucky to not experience such difficult, terrible situations and I’m grateful for my Dad and for how wisely he manages my career. I have an amazing team, safety and currently I’m really privileged but I’m aware that not every athlete could have the same independence,” Iga Swiatek said.
“I hope that with exposure of such matters and solving them carefully and fairly, sports will change for the better, in Poland and in the world,” she added.
