Iga Swiatek, the world No. 1 in women’s tennis, is a force of nature. Watching her on the court is like witnessing a master artist at work—precise, powerful, and almost always dominant. But even the best have off days. After a stunning loss to Emma Navarro at the China Open, Swiatek found herself on the receiving end of something far uglier than a simple defeat: a tidal wave of online hate from so-called “fans.”

Apparently, in the minds of these keyboard warriors, losing a single tennis match is grounds for a complete character assassination. It’s a bizarre, yet depressingly predictable, part of modern sports culture. You’d think a four-time Grand Slam champion would have earned a bit of leeway, but nope. Welcome to the internet, where everyone’s an expert and empathy is in short supply.

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