Tennis Controversies of the Week: Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz snub reporters over strange questions at French Open, Novak Djokovic destroys racket, and more

The excitement for the French Open continued to build over the past week, with the clay court Major underway from Sunday, May 25. Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek's press duties before their upcoming first-round matches in Paris didn't go too well, having to deal with some out-of-the-box questions.

Novak Djokovic's temper got the better of him at last week's Geneva Open, destroying his racket in the process during his quarterfinal showdown. Danielle Collins was in an unforgiving mood after a cameraman invaded her personal space at the Internationaux de Strasbourg.

Here's a quick rundown of the controversial moments in the world of tennis over the past week:

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#1. Novak Djokovic smashes his racket en route to victory

Djokovic, who was competing at the Geneva Open last week, celebrated his birthday on May 22. He also took on Matteo Arnaldi the same day in the quarterfinals. The Italian youngster had previously beaten him at the Madrid Open a few weeks ago.

Djokovic claimed the first set 6-4 without a fuss but was on the backfoot in the second set after going down 4-1. Annoyed by the dip in his level, he smashed his racket in frustration.

Releasing that pent-up anger proved to be useful as Djokovic reeled off the next five games to seal a 6-4, 6-4 victory. He went on to win the title as well, the 100th of his remarkable career. He will be keen to sustain this momentum at the French Open, where he's seeking his 25th Major crown.

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#2. Danielle Collins calls out a cameraman for getting too close for comfort

Danielle Collins at the Italian Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Collins' feisty and outspoken attitude is well-known at this point. She was recently participating in the Internationaux de Strasbourg and gave the cameraman a piece of her mind for getting too close to her and Emma Raducanu during a changeover in the middle of their second-round showdown.

As players sat for a changeover, Collins needed to get some water. She noticed that the cameraman was too close to her and told him to give her some space, adding that it was "wildly inappropriate" to be this close to players.

"I need to get water. We’re on a changeover. You don’t need to be that close to me & you don’t need to be on top of Emma. It’s like wildly inappropriate. Not that difficult to give space,” she said.

Collins brushed aside this incident and staged a comeback to beat Raducanu 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. She eventually lost to Liudmila Samsonova in the semifinals. Her focus will now be on the French Open, where she's up against Jodie Burrage in the first round.

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#3. Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz give reporters the cold shoulder over asinine questions

Dealing with random questions during press conferences can be taxing for players. Some can handle it well, while others make their frustrations quite clear. Ahead of their French Open campaigns, Swiatek and Alcaraz chose to do the latter during their media obligations.

A reporter discussed the technical side of Max Purcell's recent doping ban and asked Alcaraz his opinion on the subject. The Spaniard seemed stumped by the question and stated he had no idea what the journalist was asking of him and couldn't give him a definite answer.

"Honestly, what you told me right now, it sounds to me like you were talking Chinese. I have no idea what you were talking about so I don't know if it's good or not. Honestly, I haven't heard that thing in my life, so I can't answer," he said.

Swiatek hasn't won a title since her triumph at last year's French Open. She recently lost in the third round of the Italian Open as well. However, given her impressive record in Paris, a journalist asked her if she feels emotionally "lifted" just by coming here.

Swiatek stated that while she may have had a few bad losses but she's not down in the dumps. She retorted by asking the journalist whether he's feeling "lifted" or not in the end.

"Yeah, but you know, it's not, like I feel good overall. So, maybe I played some bad matches but it's not like I need so much of an emotional lift. But for sure it's nice to come here. Did you get an emotional lift? I'm sorry you're not lifted," Swiatek said.

Alcaraz and Swiatek are both the defending champions at the French Open. The Spaniard will commence his title defense against Giulio Zeppieri, while the Pole will do the same against Rebecca Sramkova.

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#4. Elena Rybakina's word of thanks to suspended coach Stefano Vukov irks fans

Elena Rybakina at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. (Photo: Getty)

Rybakina returned to the winner's circle after more than a year, claiming her ninth career title at last week's Internationaux de Strasbourg. While her fans were happy to see her hoisting the winner's trophy after so long, they weren't pleased when she mentioned her controversial coach, Vukov.

Vukov was suspended by the WTA Tour earlier this year for 12 months following an investigation into allegations of abuse against him. While Rybakina briefly parted ways with him towards the end of last season, she later hired him as an additional coach once again.

"I want to say thank you to my team. I have a good and big team. Thank you to my fitness coach, physio, Stefano [Vukov], and to my family," Rybakina said.

Rybakina's fans weren't happy when she added him back to her team. Now that she has won a title with him by her side, they fear that he will never leave her alone. The Kazakh will now turn her attention to the French Open, where she will face Julia Riera in the first round.