Casper Ruud sends heartfelt message to tearful Iga Swiatek after Madrid Open upset

Iga Swiatek's hunt for first title since the 2024 French Open continues as she registered her fourth defeat to Coco Gauff when they met in Madrid.

Casper Ruud sends heartfelt message to tearful Iga Swiatek after Madrid Open upset

Iga Swiatek, Casper Ruud (Image via X/DW Sports, Tennis Talks)

Iga Swiatek was inconsolable, and understandably so, during the Madrid Open semifinals. Before her 6-1, 6-1 defeat to Coco Gauff at the Caja Magica in 64 minutes, Swiatek was crying when she was 0-3 in the second set.

During the change of ends, Swiatek covered her face with the towel. When she removed the towel, she could be seen wiping away her tears. When Casper Ruud came across the clip of it, he tried to lift her spirits by sending her a heartfelt message.

Hey @iga_swiatek keep your head up Like millions of other people I love watching you play. Not your day today, but you inspire so many and you’ll be back stronger than ever!!

Casper Ruud wrote on X

Check out her post here:

It was Swiatek’s third consecutive defeat to Gauff following the round-robin stage of the 2024 WTA Finals and the United Cup final. The semifinal also marked Gauff’s first triumph over the Pole on clay in six matches.

While Swiatek’s campaign in the Spanish capital ended in disappointment, Ruud has been inching closer to the Madrid Open title as he extended his streak to 7-0 in clay-court Masters 1000 quarterfinals after denying Daniil Medvedev a chance to take home his first title since the 2023 Italian Open.

The quarterfinal clash marked the Norwegian’s first victory over the Russian. The win also made the 26-year-old the first player born in 1990 or later to progress to 30 clay-court semifinals. He will next lock horns with Francisco Cerundolo, who knocked out this year’s Miami Open champion Jakub Mensik.

Coco Gauff acknowledges Iga Swiatek did not play her best tennis in the semifinal

Iga Swiatek has reached the quarterfinals of every tournament she played this year but was unsuccessful in advancing to the final. Coco Gauff, after handing her the worst defeat on clay since 2019 when former World No.1 Simona Halep dismantled her 6-1, 6-0 at the French Open, said she felt Swiatek did not play to her full potential.

Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek
Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek (Image via X/Cancha Central, #MMOpen)

But, I mean, obviously, today was not a great day (for her), but yes, every time I play against her, I feel she is one of the best players on the circuit. But again, I am probably reflecting on her performance today, and maybe this week, and maybe she wasn’t at her level.

Coco Gauff said at the press conference

Swiatek has become a player who is nearly unbeatable on clay. But this year, it was her second defeat in two consecutive tournaments as prior to Madrid, she fell in three sets against Jelena Ostapenko, who registered a perfect 6-0 in the head-to-head matchups against the five-time Grand Slam champion.

At one point during the second set in the Madrid Open semifinal, frustrations got the better of Swiatek. The former World No.1 received a code violation for yelling, “F**k! Why,” in Polish.

Here’s the video:

Swiatek will now be preparing for the Italian Open, where last year she won the title by beating Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian is Gauff’s opponent in the Madrid Open final.

Sabalenka, after knocking out Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-5, scheduled a match against the 2023 US Open champion for the 10th time. The three-time Grand Slam singles champion has reached her sixth final this season and is chasing her third title.

In their nine encounters, the World No.1 holds a 4-5 head-to-head record and lost the match they played against each other the last time, in the semifinals of the 2024 WTA Finals, which Gauff later won by beating Qinwen Zheng.

Gauff is searching for her first title since taking home the WTA Finals trophy. This season, despite starting her campaign in an emphatic fashion, she was unsuccessful in clinching three consecutive wins in the five tournaments she played following her defeat to Paula Badosa in the Australian Open quarterfinal.

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