Iga Swiatek couldn’t resist teasing umpire Marija Cicak after being handed a time violation warning during her win at the Miami Open. On Monday, Swiatek triumphed over Elina Svitolina in a thrilling encounter that saw numerous shifts in momentum, ultimately prevailing 7-6(5), 6-3. Despite the intense match, the World No. 2 was all grins as she took a light-hearted dig at Cicak, with whom she’s had several encounters in the past.

Swiatek, while serving for the match, seemed to deliberately slow down between serves, aiming to compose herself. As expected, Cicak issued a time violation warning, which didn’t stop Swiatek from completing her victory.

Post-match, Swiatek playfully approached Cicak and remarked: “I almost thought I’m not getting a time violation from you.”

She then humorously snapped her fingers before departing and waving to the remaining fans at Hard Rock Stadium.

Swiatek and Cicak have a history of such exchanges. During the 2023 Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, Cicak gave Swiatek a time violation at match point because she wasn’t ready to receive a serve from Marketa Vondrousova, having turned her back to the court.

Following the match, a heated exchange took place between Swiatek and Cicak regarding the time violation. Cicak was heard saying, “It is not your time” and “You were stood there for another five to seven seconds for no reason and you can at least turn around.”

In the post-match press conference, Swiatek downplayed the incident, stating that there was no animosity between her and Cicak. “No, no, I wouldn’t say ‘tension,'” she said.

“I respect Marija Cicak, she’s a great umpire. But overall she’s really strict with the rules and she’s applying them always, looking at even, like, one second and everything.

“Yeah, last two games, we played some longer rallies so I felt, like, I need time to just catch my breath, but Marketa didn’t really let me do that. We have, what, 23 or 25 seconds?”

This is not the first time Swiatek has been at the centre of controversy. Recently, she faced backlash from fans after an outburst at Indian Wells.

During a semi-final match against Mirra Andreeva, Swiatek hit a ball into the ground, narrowly missing a nearby ball kid. She later apologised on social media for losing control of her emotions, stating that she never intended to aim the ball at anyone, but was simply trying to release her frustration.

“I expressed frustration in a way I’m not proud of,” she admitted. “My intention was never to aim the ball at anyone but merely to release my frustration by bouncing it on the ground.

“I immediately apologized to the ball boy, we made eye contact and nodded to each other when I expressed regret that it happened near him. I’ve seen many players bounce balls in frustration, and frankly, I didn’t expect such harsh judgements. Usually, I control such impulses, so half-jokingly I can say I lack experience in this and misjudged my aim in the heat of the moment.”

This article first appeared on Daily Express US.