Danielle Collins rips into Iga Swiatek as she reveals why she retired from Olympics tennis quarterfinal

PARIS, FRANCE: American tennis player Danielle Collins criticized Poland's Iga Swiatek for her "fakeness" and reflected on their contentious exchange at the end of Wednesday's (July 31) Olympic match in Paris.

In one particular encounter, Swiatek was hit by a ball during a point and went to her knees on the court, clutching at her midriff.

But her opponent, Collins, was the one who had to retire in the third set after suffering a stomach condition, preventing her from finishing out the match.

Danielle Collins calls Iga Swiatek 'fake' following heated exchange

Danielle Collins, 30, had dropped the world's top player, Iga Swiatek, 23, to her knees at Roland Garros at the beginning of the third set with a backhand to the midriff.

Collins of the United States, withdrew from the match on Tuesday, July 31, allowing Swiatek of Poland to move on to the semifinals of the Olympics in Paris.

However, Collins' post-match altercation with her competitor, which transpired after the American was defeated 4-1 in the third set, was not triggered by the defeat. Later, she expressed her displeasure with Swiatek's behavior with the media.

Following Collins' decision to retire, viewers witnessed a tense greeting between the two; both players acknowledged the encounter while meeting with the media after the game.

Collins was displeased with Swiatek's post-win behavior, claiming that the top-ranked women's tennis player in the world appeared "fake".

According to tennis reporter Christopher Clarey, Collins stated, "I told Iga she didn’t have to be insincere about, you know, my injury," per the New York Post.

"There’s a lot that happens on camera, and there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma and come out and are one way on camera and another way in the locker room."

Collins explained, "And I just haven’t had the best experience, and I don’t really feel like anybody needs to be insincere. They can be the way that they are. I can accept that, and I don’t need the fakeness."

Collins further accused the Olympic organizers of failing to provide athletes with enough water.

She explained, "It’s incredibly disappointing because you work so hard your whole life to make it to the Olympics, and this is my first and my last Olympics, and something like not having adequate water on court. That’s really frustrating and it’s really sad."

Iga Swiatek shakes off Danielle Collins' 'fakeness' accusations

Following her third consecutive victory at the French Open at Roland Garros, Iga Swiatek advanced to the medal stages and will face Qinwen Zheng of China in the semifinals.

The Pole created tennis history by being the first person from her nation, male or female, to advance to the Olympic tennis medal rounds. However, Collins appeared to reject Swiatek when she reached out to shake her hand following her win.

In response to questions regarding her conversation with Collins, Swiatek told reporters, "I think it's better to ask her," adding that she would "rather not get into these because that's her last year on Tour," People reported.

Swiatek appeared to be just as shocked by Collins' remarks in the mixed zone following the game as she had been when she initially heard them on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

According to Poland's Interia (via Tennis.com), Swiatek stated, "Honestly, I don't know what she meant, because we didn't even have any interactions that could have caused her to say that to me."

Swiatek refused to answer when asked if Collins might have been upset with her during the game because of her nine-minute restroom break.

Rather, Swiatek stated that she was not aware of the time constraints for restroom breaks during the Olympic Games in Paris.

"Honestly, I didn't know how much time had passed, but I didn't do anything against the rules, so I don't really know what the whole situation was about," she explained.

Collins complained about Swiatek's nine-minute toilet break after losing the second set, particularly pointing out that the Pole was playing too fast.

Danielle Collins slammed for accusing Iga Swiatek of being fake'

US tennis player Danielle Collins received backlash on the internet for calling off the match abruptly and accusing Poland's Iga Swiatek of being "fake".

One X (formerly Twitter) user wrote, "Danielle Collins faking her injury and telling Iga Świątek she's fake person, just to play double few minutes later."

Another user added, "Literally Iga Swiatek on the net when Danielle Collins told her to stop being fake and show the personality she has in the looker rooms, lol."

"Damn she making America look like sore losers," exclaimed one person.

Another seethed, "After flat out quitting and whining about a fake stomach injury that was caused by the “water not being cold enough the day before” she goes out and plays in a doubles match less then two hours later. She’s a joke. Happy retirement, Danielle!"

"And fakes her injury. She played later double match. XD," wrote another.

One individual remarked, "So Danielle Collins retired in her last Olympic run QF game, got mad, accused Iga for being insincere and fake about wishing her well bc of injury (the reason she retired) but a couple of hours later she’s playing a doubles game? jfc what a person."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.