Iga Świątek didn’t hold back after her semifinal exit at the 2025 French Open, calling the officiating during her match unfair following a tense disagreement with chair umpire Kader Nouni.
The four-time Roland Garros champion took issue with the umpire’s refusal to inspect a questionable service mark from Aryna Sabalenka during a pivotal moment in the second set.
Iga Świątek Failed To Defend Her French Open Title This Year
The incident occurred with Sabalenka serving at 2-4 in the second set. Świątek, having already dropped the first set in a tiebreak, watched a serve sail past her and immediately suspected it had landed long. Expecting the umpire to verify the mark on the clay, Świątek was stunned when Nouni declined to come down from his chair.
The Polish tennis star’s frustration only grew when Hawkeye later confirmed the ball was indeed out. Nouni justified his decision by claiming Świątek had waited too long to ask for the inspection and had pointed to the wrong spot.
Despite having an otherwise stellar run in Paris, beating the likes of Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina en route to her fifth semifinal appearance, Świątek was visibly shaken during and after the match, which she lost 6-7(1), 6-4, 0-6 to top-seeded Sabalenka. Speaking at her post-match press conference, the fifth seed didn’t mince words about the inconsistency she felt from the officiating.
“He was coming down to check every mark when Aryna wanted to, even when the outs were like that,” Świątek said, holding her fingers inches apart. “When I had a mark that was out, he was convincing me that I only came there because I saw that my return was out, and I framed the return.”
Świątek emphasized that she was confident from the start that Sabalenka’s serve had landed beyond the baseline. “I knew from the beginning that it’s going to be out, you know. I didn’t really look at the ball. I just went to check the mark, and I saw the mark was out,” she continued. “I want him to come down, but he didn’t. So I don’t think that was fair, especially when he came down, like, every time Aryna asked him to.”
Świątek reflects on her loss to Sabalenka in Paris
After her semifinal win, Sabalenka managed to chip away at her head-to-head deficit against Świątek, improving the tally to 5-8. During the post-match press conference, Świątek reflected on her performance and pointed out the key areas where the top seed had the upper hand.
“I remember missing two backhands when she broke me first time. She served really well, I feel like I served the same and she read my serve much better, so I probably won less points on the return. I think I lost my intensity a bit and she just played pretty strong as in the first set but I didn’t react to that well and I just couldn’t push back.”
