Iga Swiatek was given a frosty handshake by tennis rival Danielle Collins before Poland and the United States did battle at the United Cup.

Swiatek ended up losing her singles clash against Coco Gauff, with Taylor Fritz beating Hubert Hurkacz in men’s singles to seal the overall title for the Americans. As is customary before each showdown, players from both nations formed a line and shook hands with one another.

Collins’ brief interaction with Swiatek was telling. As their hands made contact, Collins could not even look her in the eye as she walked away with what appeared to be a disapproving expression on her face.

Fans were quick to cotton onto Collins’ not-so-subtle signal on social media, with rumours spreading of a rift between the pair. Animosity towards world No. 2 Swiatek has grown in the wake of her recent doping scandal.

The Pole tested positive for banned substance Trimetazidine in an out-of-competition sample last year. Swiatek reasoned with the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) that it was due to a contaminated supply of melatonin, which she claims to use for help with the effects of jet lag.

The ITIA found Swiatek to be at ‘no significant fault’ for her anti-doping breach and handed her a one-month ban. Many feel that the 23-year-old got off lightly.

Nick Kyrgios is one of the high-profile tennis figures to have called Swiatek out, with men’s No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who himself tested positive for a banned substance last year, also in the Aussie’s firing line.

“I just think that it’s been handled horrifically in our sport,” Kyrgios said. “Two world number ones both getting done for doping is disgusting for our sport. It’s a horrible look. The tennis integrity right now, and everyone knows it, but no one wants to speak about it, is awful.

“It’s not okay. I can get emotional, I can throw a racket, but that’s nothing compared to cheating and taking performance-enhancing drugs.”

Although Swiatek may be starting to feel the heat from leading figures in tennis, women’s No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has leapt to her defence. “Whatever happened to her, I believe in a clean sport,” said the Belarusian.

“People always overreact when they see something without trying to figure out what actually happened or understand the player. They’re always going to find things to judge someone successful. So, I prefer to believe that there is a clean sport and she’s innocent. If they prove that, it means that she is innocent.”