World No.1 Iga Swiatek walked out of an interview after bursting into tears following her Olympics semi-final defeat.
Swiatek has dominated on the clay at Roland Garros in recent years and was the strong favourite for gold.
She had won four French Open titles in the last five years and three in a row, but the best she can now hope for is a bronze medal after falling to a 6-2 7-5 defeat to China’s Zheng Qinwen.
It is the world number one’s first loss at Roland Garros since she was beaten by Maria Sakkari in the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2021.
The Pole led 4-0 in the second set as she appeared to have turned the match around, but China’s Zheng won four games in a row and eventually clinched victory against a frustrated Swiatek.
She even refused to shake the hand of the umpire as she walked off court.
The 23-year-old was being interview by Eurosport in Polish, but seemingly had to stop the interview as she broke down in tears.
She could be seen over the reporter’s shoulder with her hands to her face, resting her head against a wall.
It has been a turbulent tournament for world number one Swiatek as she courted controversy in her previous match against Danielle Collins.
The American was forced to retire from the match in the third set, and she then accused Swiatek of being insincere over her injury.
On the incident, the Pole said: “It’s better to ask her, because honestly, I don’t know what happened there.
“Because it was quite strange. A rather unusual situation on the court for me.
“I don’t want to go into details because this is her last year on tour and I just want to wish her all the best.
“I didn’t have a chance to do it at that time. As she is ending her career, I know it must have been a hard moment for her as well. I just wish her all the best for the future.”
Collins herself said: “I told Iga she didn’t have to be insincere about my injury.
“There’s a lot that happens on camera, and there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma and come out and are one way on camera and another way in the locker room.
“I just haven’t had the best experience, and I don’t really feel like anybody needs to be insincere. They can be the way that they are. I can accept that, and I don’t need the fakeness.”
Now Swiatek will be playing for a bronze medal at the Olympics, where she will face either Anna Karolina Schmiedlová or Donna Vekic.
News Summary:
- World No.1 Iga Swiatek walks out of interview in tears after heartbreaking Olympics semi-final defeat
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