During Iga Swiatek's US Open 2026 round-of-16 loss to Qinwen Zheng, coach Francisco Roig was filmed scolding a supporter in the player's box. The incident came as Swiatek squandered a 5-0 lead in the first set before suffering a straight-sets defeat.
The World No. 8 and Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek’s coach, Francisco Roig, has allegedly scolded her supporter in the player's box during her US Open 2026 round of 16 clash against China’s Qinwen Zheng at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday, September 7.
Iga Swiatek’s quest for her second US Open title and overall seventh Grand Slam triumph came to an end after she suffered a stunning 7-5, 6-3 defeat. Despite racing to 5-0 in the opening set, the Polish star watched helplessly as Zheng mounted a miraculous seven-game surge to steal the first set.
In the second set, Qinwen Zheng maintained her composure and capitalized on Swiatek's mounting errors, breaking clear to seal the straight-sets victory and book her spot in the quarterfinals.
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The Cheer for Swiatek Turns Sour
As Iga Swiatek was knocked out of the US Open 2026 after defeat to Qinwen Zheng, the viral moment involving her coaching box served as a dramatic snapshot of a crumbling campaign. Fan Robert Spencer posted a video of the incident on Instagram, showing Francisco Roig turning toward him and gesturing for him to stop shouting during the match.
In a video, Swiatek was seen preparing to serve when Spencer had shouted, ‘You’ve got this, Iga, let’s go.’ The loud cheer left her coach visibly unhappy; he turned back as the fan sat right behind the Polish star’s coaching box, exchanged a few words, then turned his focus back to Swiatek’s performance.
Along with the video, Robert Spencer captioned:
“Yesterday @iga.swiatek’s coach got mad at me for cheering for Iga. Can someone explain what I did wrong?”
At the time of the incident, Iga Swiatek was completely dominating the opening set at 5-0, making the sudden shift in crowd tension and the subsequent coaching box confrontation all the more dramatic as the match began to unravel.
Swiatek’s dominant start to the opening set eventually dissolved into unforced errors and missed opportunities, allowing Zheng to completely turn the tide and close out a stunning straight-sets victory that sent shockwaves through Flushing Meadows.
‘Nothing Special About That’
Speaking at the press conference after a shock defeat to China’s Qinwen Zheng, Iga Swiatek stated that losing a commanding lead was simply part of the game. When pressed by a reporter about how she plans to internalise blowing a 5-0 advantage in the opening set, the Polish star brushed off the historic collapse.
“More specifically about the first set, having been up 5-love and bouncing back from that.. how do you think you'll go about internalizing that and growing from it?" Swiatek said.
“It's just one match, like.... try to play the same way as usual. What do you mean? Do you think it's something crazy? You can lose a set from any score; nothing special about that. Just that's what happened, and that's it," she added.
Iga Swiatek has not had an ideal season so far, as she has won just one title and failed to reach the semifinals in one of the four Grand Slams, with her highest appearance being the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, marking the first calendar year since 2021 that the former World No. 1 has ended a season without capturing a Major title.
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