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Iga Swiatek slams chair umpire after French Open semi-final loss: ‘He came down, everytime Sabalenka asked him to do it'
After her defeat to Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday, Iga Swiatek slammed the chair umpire, who officiated the match.
Iga Swiatek crumbled to a semi-final defeat against Aryna Sabalenka in their French Open 2025 semi-final fixture, at the Philippe-Chatrier court, no Thursday. The four-time French Open winner lost 6-7 6-4 0-6, in a match where Sabalenka showcased stunning tennis.
The match also saw controversy with the chair umpire, who refused a request by Swiatek to climb down and inspect a mark. It happnened when she was a set down and 4-2 up in the second, with Sabalenka serving out. As Sabalenka’s first serve landed out and Swiatek pointed her finger at the mark, asking the umpore to climb down and inspect.
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Chair umpire Kader Nouni said, “You waited for the ball to go out, and then when it went out, you went over.”
“It's here, but I won't go down. Iga, I'm not going down. Because I told you. We play, and then we go. I saw you [point to the wrong mark].”
After a short discussion, Swiatek didn’t argue anymore. Speaking at her post-match press conference, she said, “I don't think that was fair.”
“Well, he was coming down to check every mark when Aryna wanted to, even when the outs were like that. 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.
“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. 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. I don't get it, but I don't really care.”
After the win, Sabalenka will face Coco Gauff in the final, on Saturday.
