Iga Swiatek was caught stealing at Wimbledon by the BBC cameras and then put her finger over her lips, asking viewers not to tell on her. The Polish star launched into her first-ever Wimbledon semi-final, having beaten Liudmila Samsonova 6-2 7-5 on Court 1, and was keen to acquire some momentos.
After shaking hands with her Russian opponent and the umpire, before giving a speech in front of the crowd, Swiatek tried to cram as many towels into her bag as possible to take home with her. This was not the first time she has been caught out in front of the public eye, grabbing towels for her friends and family.
Not even Swiatek’s match towels were enough, as she called a ball girl over to fetch more souvenirs to take away from her first winning quarter-final at SW19.
In her first-round victory over Polina Kudermetova, Swiatek was pulled up on it during her on-court interview and said: “Come on! It’s a topic no one ever talks about. We love our towels. Every time I come back from a Slam I think I have like 10 friends and 10 family members wanting towels. So, sorry guys. Sorry Wimbledon. I don’t know if I’m supposed to do that!
“I have a lot at home. Trust me. I don’t need many more. If I’m going play like 15 more years on tour I can’t even imagine. I think I’m going to have to build another room in my house just for Grand Slam towels.”
Swiatek claimed an encouraging win over Danielle Collins and once again, more towels went home with the five-time Grand Slam champion.
When pressed on the matter by the Tennis Channel, she said: “Honestly, I take towels from everywhere, people just don’t notice that. Here, it’s suddenly a big thing, it’s all a bit humiliating.
“When I look back in 30 years, Wimbledon is going to be the best venue you can get, and I just like them, you know. The Wimbledon towels are of the best quality after you wash them. I use them daily in Warsaw, so I can recommend them.”
After booking her place in the semi-finals for the first time at Wimbledon, along with another collection of tournament towels, Swiatek admitted she felt goosebumps in the immediate aftermath of the win.
“Honestly, it feels great,” she said. “I have goosebumps after this win. I am super happy and super proud of myself and I will keep going.
“I really enjoy playing [on grass] this year and hopefully it is going to last as long as possible. I worked hard to progress here on this surface. It is a pleasure to play in front of you guys so thank you for the support.”
