Iga Swiatek was brutally criticized by Elena Rybakina’s ex-coach, saying she was “the only tennis player I don’t like.”

Elena Rybakina’s former coach Andrei Chesnokov has sharply criticized Iga Swiatek, saying the world number 1 is the only tennis player he doesn’t like.

The former world number 9 claimed that Swiatek looks for excuses when she loses matches instead of congratulating her opponents.

This is the second time Swiatek has come under fire from a former Russian ATP player in recent weeks, after former world number one Yevgeny Kafelnikov claimed she deserved “to be paid much less.”

Kafelnikov criticized Swiatek for emphasizing the demanding tennis schedule, arguing that there are “too many tournaments” taking place during the Cincinnati Open.

The Polish star has also been accused by former American WTA players Lindsay Davenport and Coco Vandeweghe of using toilet breaks as a tactic to disrupt his opponents. Davenport, a former world No. 1, described the alleged tactic as a “bad habit.”

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Andrei Chesnokov, who won seven ATP singles titles in his career from 1985 to 1999, is the most recent and certainly harshest critic of Swiatek.

“The only tennis player I don’t like is Iga Swiatek,” the 58-year-old was quoted as saying by We love tennis.

“The best women’s match of last season was the final in Madrid. Swiatek lost to Aryna Sabalenka and didn’t say a single nice word about the final. When she lost, everything went wrong for her. She had a headache, she was sick.”

“Every time he loses to Djokovic, Nadal says that Djokovic played very well and congratulates him.

“She never says anything. For her, there is only one person in the world. Her. The others are, to put it mildly, nothing and nobody.”

Swiatek is aiming for her fifth Grand Slam title at the 2024 US Open, where she will begin her campaign on Tuesday against world number 104 Kamilla Rakhimova.

In her pre-tournament press conference, Swiatek admitted that her expectations this year were lower than at the 2023 US Open.

“Last year I definitely felt like I had to defend a lot of things, like my world ranking, all my points and also the title itself. I felt like I had a lot of weight on my shoulders,” said the 23-year-old.

“This year it’s a little different. This year I’m just trying to focus on what I need to do in tennis to play the best game I can.”

“My expectations are not as high as last year. So I will try to achieve everything step by step and not put too much weight on my shoulders.”

READ MORE: Martina Navratilova names her favorite at the US Open and it’s not Iga Swiatek