SportWimbledonThe defending Wimbledon champion had a nightmare on Centre Court15:30, 04 Jul 2026Wimbledon star Iga Swiatek let her emotions get the better of her during her third round clash against Alexandra Eala. The reigning champion was pushed to a tie-break by her Filipino opponent and at one point hurled her racket into her own bag.‌Eala, who knocked out Serena Williams' conqueror Maya Joint to earn a showdown with the Polish star, was ahead 4-2 in the breaker when the outburst occurred and went on to take the tie-break despite her opponent's determined resistance.‌BBC commentators Anne Keothavong and Jo Durie were visibly surprised by what they witnessed in terms of Swiatek's tennis before the on-court reaction from the No. 3 seed.‌JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! All the best sports news and much more on our dedicated Facebook page"Really has been patchy throughout this set from Iga Swiatek," Keothavong said. Durie replied: "I mean to see three unforced errors in a row like that is quite shocking really from Swiatek as you know she makes so many balls usually. She's aggressive and gets up the court but she has that margin for error. And those three will not have made her feel very good."After watching Swiatek throw the racket, Keothavong added: "It's been that kind of afternoon hasn't it for the world No. 3."‌Swiatek is not the first player to fling her racket at Wimbledon this year. Mirra Andreeva displayed her frustration in a similar fashion during a defeat to Barbora Krejcikova, with the French Open champion also drawing comment from the BBC on that occasion."Mirra Andreeva has just smashed her racket. If that was a wooden box, it would've been smashed to smithereens - but it was smashed into her racket bag," Annabel Croft said. "She is absolutely seething as she grabs her towel. It is almost like she couldn't walk any quicker off this court right now."‌Swiatek was questioned about Eala following her second round victory over Karolina Pliskova, and was confident she would rise to the occasion. Nevertheless, the No. 29 seed had given her plenty to think about early in the match."Well, I don't particularly know her game on grass. Obviously I can watch a little bit. I know how she plays because we played already," Swiatek said of her third round opponent.Article continues below"She has a tricky game. I can assume that on grass it's even more tricky because of the surface. For sure, she's using her strengths, the change of rhythm and everything. I will prepare and I'll be ready."But it will be a good challenge for me 'cause, yeah, she doesn't give that rhythm. I will need to be ready for different kinds of shots."Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌BBCFrench OpenKarolina PliskovaAnnabel CroftSerena WilliamsAnne KeothavongWimbledon