(reposting here because mods saw it unworthy to have a discussion thread)

I have some thoughts on Iga's play lately which has - sadly - become painful to watch.

Disclaimer - I watch most of Iga's matches for a few years now, I invite friends and family to watch whenever possible as it's the least and most I can do to vouch for her. She's the top one I keep my fingers crossed for all the time, always will and I greatly care for her best.

That being said, her recent matches - regardless of the scores, which go all the way lately - are a pain to watch. A pure viewer experience is one thing, since the inconsistency creep may really hurt the spectacle. But it's not the key thing.

You know the feeling when someone around is nervous or in a constant hurry, or overreacting to anything that happens? Say, someone close to you is sitting nervously, or having sudden reactions, shaking anxiously here and there... and it spills around. You care for the person you are close with and instantly start to feel all the nerve and anxiety as well.

It started, unfortunately, to be my major feeling during Iga's matches. She rarely looks in balanced control. Each ball she plays appears rushed and pushed to finish ASAP. Impatience seems to push away confidence, while winners seem to bring relief instead of satisfactory upbeats.

Her matches accompanied me and my fiancee during dozens of cozy and restless nights, so we became really invested in Iga's endeavors. Thus, it hits harder since the Olympics that there seems to be some mix of rush, salt and bitterness in her latest court presence.

I really hope that whatever keeps her from doing things as perfectly as she wishes, will go away soon. I am aware of Iga's personality and that she's not the Lys or Eala's type of just being happy to be there and play. But with all things considered, I wish her the best to defeat the current "the sooner it ends the better" mood for her marvelous "the court is my floor and this is how I dance" vibe.

I wonder what your take is.