‘Did you think about putting beads in your hair?’: Swiatek left baffled as US Open journalist storms out after asking bizarre question

World No.2 Iga Swiatek encountered an awkward moment at a press conference following her hard-fought victory over Suzan Lamens in the second round of the US Open 2025. The Polish tennis player’s on-court brilliance was overshadowed by a bizarre exchange with a journalist that left her visibly frustrated.

It was not a routine victory for the winner of six Grand Slam titles, as she was made to work by the unseeded Dutch player. Eventually, Swiatek won in three sets, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Giving her a stark reminder that anything can happen at a Grand Slam tournament. However, what followed was seemingly more exhausting for her.

Iga Swiatek addresses unusual query

During the press conference after the match, the 23-year-old addressed an unusual question posed by a Polish journalist, Tomek Moczerniuk. The journalist wanted to know whether the player has ever considered doing something for the show.

The full question was: “This is New York, people here like to put on a show, whether good or bad. Some scream on the court, some quarrel, some enter the court with labubu dolls. Have you ever thought of, I don’t know, putting beads in your hair (translated from Polish)?”
Seemingly annoyed with the question, Swiatek vehemently questioned the relevance of the query.

A visibly annoyed Swiatek vehemently questioned the relevance of the query.

“What kind of question is that? Did you think about putting beads in your hair? No. What’s going on here? What sort of a question was that?”

Tell me it’s not real…

The question is whether Iga wanted to weave beads into her hair pic.twitter.com/CBDV5EFw3m

— S.|198km/h⚡️| 🍓🏆🥳 (@Sarilec) August 28, 2025

Upon hearing the response from Iga, Moczerniuk resorted to leaving the press conference, and the camera then panned to Swiatek, who could not help but shake her head in apparent disbelief at the entire episode.

Later, the journalist explained his intentions on social media, claiming that he only attempted to lighten the mood with that query, but it backfired. He also promised to apologise to Swiatek.

“The conversation with Iga got a bit out of hand,” Moczerniuk wrote. “Unfortunately, I got caught in the crossfire because she didn’t like that I asked if — since New Yorkers like a show — she had ever thought about lightly shocking them, for example, by weaving beads into her hair.

“You need to understand the whole context. The end of the conference was tense, and I wanted to lighten the mood a bit and ask a casual, relaxed question. But it turned out as it did, and I can’t turn back time. I’ll apologize to [Iga] at the earliest opportunity,” he added.