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2024 Olympics: Tennis' Danielle Collins Has Tense Interaction With Iga Swiatek After Retiring From Match

​​​​​​​View Date:2024-12-23 19:01:10

Danielle Collins found fault with opponent Iga Swiatek's attitude during their match at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

During her quarterfinal match against the Polish athlete, the Team USA Olympian could be seen sharing some tense words with her opponent after she pulled out of the match during the third set due to injury.

"I told Iga she didn't have to be insincere about my injury," Collins told reporters after the match, per People. "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."

As the 30-year-old—who plans to retire from the sport after this season to end her career on a positive note—explained, she just didn't have "the best experience" and didn't appreciate the insincerity.

"They can be the way that they are," she continued. "I can accept that, and I don't need the fakeness."

As for what she told Swiatek after the game, Collins kept mum, telling reporters that she'd "rather not get into these because that's her last year on Tour," and that it's "better to ask her."

And the duo's match wasn't just tense off the court, as during the competition a strong backhand from Collins hit Swiatek in the stomach, causing the 23-year-old—who is currently the top-seeded woman at the Olympic Games—to clutch her midsection and fall to the floor before quickly recovering.

"I couldn't breathe for some time," Swiatek explained to reporters about the hit. "I guess with the adrenaline that you have on court, you don't feel these kind of things too hard. So I could get back in the game really quickly."

As for Collins, her decision to end the game was due to injury in her abdominal muscles, saying that the heat in Paris has "been brutal."

"When you have full-body cramps from your toes to your neck and you suffer a heat stroke," she said, "it's very, very difficult to come out here."

But Collins and Swiatek weren't the only tennis stars who experienced a tense exchange following their set as Team USA's Emma Navarro had a heated conversation with China's Zheng Qwinwen during their post-game handshake at the women's tennis singles quarter-finals July 30.

"I just told her I didn't respect her as a competitor," Navarro told reporters during a press conference. "I think she goes about things in a pretty cut-throat way. It makes for a locker room that doesn't have a lot of camaraderie, so it's tough to face an opponent like that, who I really don't respect."

But Qwinwen brushed off the comment, saying she was "glad" Navarro was honest with her and adding, "I will not consider it an attack because she lost the match."

For more emotional moments from the 2024 Olympics, keep reading.

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)

Serbia's Nemanja Majdov (L) and Greece's Theodoros Tselidis (R) share a moment after their round in the men's 90kg round of 16 in judo. Tselildis, who beat Majdov, later won the bronze medal. 

Manon Apithy-Brunet (L) kisses her husband France's Bolade Apithy after his team beat Egypt. 

Gold medalist Alex Yee of Team Great Britain and Silver medalist Hayden Wilde of Team New Zealand share a subtle celebratory moment after crossing the finish line. 

Team New Zealand leaps for joy after beating Canada in the Women's Rugby Sevens Gold medal match. 

Agustina Gorzelany of Team Argentina celebrates her team's first goal in a match against Spain. Argentina ended up winning the match 2-1. 

Team Guatemala's Adriana Ruano Oliva gets emotional after realizing she's won the gold medal in the shooting trap women's final. 

Andy Murray and Dan Evans of Great Britain embrace in celebration after besting Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen of Team Belgium in Men's Doubles second round match. 

Great Britain's Tom Dean celebrates, along with fellow teammates, after his win in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay. 

Simone Biles expresses elation after securing the gold medal for Team USA in the women's gymnastics team final, making her the most decorated gymnast in history. 

Team Italy reacts after finishing the women's gymnastics all around team final with a silver medal. 

Coco Gauff listens to a call made against her during a July 30 match against Croatia's Donna Vekic. The controversial line correction ended the tennis champion's run in the 2024 Olympics. 

Jasmine Paolini reacts during her match with Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. She lost the match, exiting the games. 

Serbian sports shooter Zorana Arunovic kisses her gold medal—her first time medaling in the sport after competing in London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. 

Kazuma Kaya and the rest of Team Japan celebrate after earning a gold medal for the artistic gymnastics men's team final. They were followed by Team China with silver, and Team USA with bronze. 

Adam Burgess of Great Britain celebrates after completing his event. His team took home a silver and bronze medal for canoe slalom, a sport that sees competitors navigate a whitewater course. 

Team Malaysia's Tang Jie Chen and Ee Wei Toh celebrate after beating China during the mixed doubles play stage. 

Asher Hong of Team USA celebrates after completing the vault at the men's team final. He placed 9th in his event, and helped earn the Team USA men's gymnastics team a bronze medal. 

French fencer Manon Apithy-Brunet reacts after beating South Korea's Choi Se-bin in the women's semifinal bout. 

Serbia's Novak Djokovic holds up his racket in celebration after defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain in a second round match of the Men's Singles tournament. 

Ezinne Kalu and the rest of Team Nigeria celebrate their win against Team Australia. 

Stephen Nedoroscik, an Internet meme for his pommel horse performance, celebrates during his team's final. 

Amandine Buchard takes a page out of Taylor Swift's book with her celebratory heart hands at the medal ceremony for women's judo. She took bronze for France in the 52kg event. 

Hidayat Heydarov of Team Azerbaijan proudly holds up his gold medal after day three of the Olympic games. 

Pauline Ferrand Prevot tears up after scoring a gold medal for France. 

Team USA's Simone Biles reacts after her exercise on the balance beam at the second of five women's qualfiying sessions, during day two of the Olympics.

Salih Yildiz expresses disappointment after he was defeated by opponent  Luka Mkheidze of France. 

Team USA embraces after winning the first heat of the women's 4x100m Freestyle relay. 

Lukas Maertens (R) of Germany raises his fist in celebration after winning the men's 400m Freestyle event. Meanwhile, Guilherme Costa of Brazil (L) looks defeated after placing fifth. 

The Argentinian rugby player Matteo Graziano following the defeat of his team against France.

Team Spain celebrates after their second goal in their match against Japan. 

Watch the 2024 Paris Olympics daily on NBC and Peacock until the summer games end with the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

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