Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek has broken her new coach’s Achilles tendon in a wager that went wrong.
The tennis star shared her new trainer, Francisco Roig, tore his Achilles tendon during a promotional event in Rome’s Piazza del Popolo, over a wager of €100 (£86).
Roig, 58, who has coached players such as Rafa Nadal and Emma Raducanu, injured himself while stretching for a volley during a practice session.
The world number three told reporters after she beat Caty McNally at the Italian Open: “Yeah, I broke my coach’s Achilles.
“Basically, we’re having a practice on Piazza del Popolo. It was supposed to be a live practice… We made a bet for €100.
“I had 5-4 and the match point already. He did a split step and tore his Achilles.
“It happened on Saturday. On Tuesday, he had surgery already in Warsaw. We kind of took care of him.”
Swiatek will face either Emma Navarro or Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the next round of the Italian Open.
Iga Swiatek shared that she broke her new coach’s Achilles tendon during a practice session
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The tennis star is one of 20 elite players who published a statement voicing their “deep disappointment” regarding prize money arrangements at grand slams.
The players say that prize money at Roland Garros this year will constitute less than 15 per cent of the tournament’s total revenue, falling significantly short of the 22 per cent share they are seeking.
Speaking to journalists in Rome before the Italian Open, Aryna Sabalenka made clear her view that players are the central attraction of the sport.
Swiatek made her way through to the next round of the Italian Open after beating Caty McNally
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She said: “I feel like the show is on us. I feel like without us there wouldn’t be a tournament and there wouldn’t be that entertainment.
“I feel like definitely we deserve to be paid more percentage. What can I say?
“I just really hope that all of the negotiation that we are having, we at some point are going to get to the right decision, to the conclusion that everyone will be happy with.”
When questioned if players could boycott tournaments, Sabalenka said: “I think at some point we will boycott it.
The world number three was part of a group of players calling for better prize pots and welfare
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“I feel like that’s going to be the only way to kind of fight for our rights.”
Swiatek echoed parts of her colleague’s points, saying: “I think we’ve been pretty reasonable in terms of our proposal and getting the fair share of revenue.
“I think the increase of prize money is not exactly what we wanted because the percentage of revenue is going down.”
However, the suggestion of a boycott from the Belarusian was “a bit extreme” for Swiatek.
