Iga Swiatek has been barred from entering Melbourne Park by two overzealous security guards because she didn’t have her Australian Open accreditation on her.
The No.2 seed was visibly frustrated after being denied entry on Tuesday morning despite being one of the most recognisable stars at the tournament.
Footage of the incident shows Swiatek running up to the players’ entrance at Melbourne Park before talking with a security guard who refuses to let her through.
She then calls someone on her phone to have her accreditation brought to her and looks unimpressed as she is forced to wait for her ID to arrive.
Swiatek then quickly flashes it at the security staff before running up the hallway to the players’ area.
The Polish star is preparing for her quarter-final against fifth seed Elena Rybakina on Wednesday after defeating Australia’s Maddison Inglis in the round of 16.
Iga Swiatek was visibly frustrated when security guards blocked her from entering Melbourne Park on Tuesday (pictured)
The women’s singles No.2 seed is one of the most recognisable stars at the tournament
Swiatek has reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park twice but has fallen short of her bid to add the Australian Open to her major trophy haul.
The 24-year-old won Wimbledon last year, the US Open in 2022 and she owns four French Open titles, winning three in a row between 2022 and 2024.
She is looking to make amends for last year’s AO disappointment, falling to eventual champion Madison Keys in three sets despite holding a match point in the deciding set.
Ranked 168, Inglis was helped into the fourth round by the injury-enforced withdrawal of her third-round opponent Naomi Osaka.
While she was intent on continuing her stellar run, Inglis couldn’t match the ruthless strike power from Swiatek, who swept through the first set in just 32 minutes.
The 28-year-old joined the large crowd at Rod Laver Arena in celebrating when she broke the Polish star to go ahead 1-0 in the second set.
Unfortunately the joy was short-lived with Swiatek striking straight back and then breaking Inglis again to take a 3-1 lead.
Inglis continued to battle and put up more resistance in the second set and had another break point on Swiatek’s serve.
Swiatek was in a rush to get to the players’ area so she can prepare for her quarter-final on Wednesday night
The Polish star is attempting to add the Australian Open to her list of title wins, which includes Wimbledon and the French and US Opens
But in the end she failed to dent Swiatek’s dominance.
‘I felt pretty confident from the beginning,’ the former world No.1 said.
‘I felt like the pace of the ball was much different on my last round so I needed to adjust with my legs and really be precise with my footwork and I’m happy that I went for it.’
Despite the loss, as the last local woman in the draw, Inglis leaves the Australian Open with a huge rankings surge, set to move up to 113.
She will also bank a ‘life-changing’ prizemoney cheque of $480,000, while her fiancé, Jason Kubler, will play in the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles in an all-Australian pairing with Marc Polmans.
