Iga Swiatek admits disappointing Olympic semifinal loss “broke her heart in general”

Iga Swiatek reflects on her disappointing Paris Olympic semifinal loss to Qinwen Zheng, admitting it broke her heart.

Iga Swiatek admits disappointing Olympic semifinal loss “broke her heart in general”

Iga Swiatek (Image via X)

Iga Swiatek ended the 2024 season worse than her previous two seasons. The Polish star failed to win a title in the last five months of the year, despite winning five titles in the first six months. One of her major defeats this season was at the Paris Olympic semifinals against Qinwen Zheng. She recently reflected on the loss, claiming it broke her heart.

Ahead of Swiatek’s meeting with Zheng at the Olympics, the Polish star was on a 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros. In fact, the last time she lost at that court was in 2021. She had gone on a 21-match unbeaten run on clay before the Olympics, winning the Madrid Open, Italian Open, and French Open.

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The former World No. 1 was also a clear favorite to win the gold medal and held a 6-0 head-to-head career record against Zheng. However, the 23-year-old clay-court specialist produced one of the worst displays in her career on the occasion, making 36 unforced errors against her Chinese opponent 15. She went on to lose the match 2-6, 5-7.

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Swiatek was in tears after the match and shared later on that she cried for six hours after the loss. In a recent interview with Polish TV, she opened up about how she felt after the loss, stressing that it was one of the most disappointing moments of the year.

I think that if it weren’t for the doping case, it would have been the most disappointing moment of the year. Knowing that I hadn’t lost at Roland Garros for several years and to lose the most important match for me, it broke my heart in general.

Iga Swiatek said via Fakty po Faktach on TVN24

However, Swiatek easily claimed the bronze medal after defeating Anna Karolína Schmiedlova in straight sets. She became the first Polish player to win a tennis medal at the Olympic Games.

Iga Swiatek reveals her highlight of the 2024 season

Iga Swiatek is known for playing her best on clay court, but this season, she was ruthless on the surface. The 23-year-old only loss during the clay swing was at the Stuttgart Open, where she lost to Elena Rybakina in the semifinals.

After that, she beat Aryna Sabalenka to win the Madrid Open and Italian Open, before defeating Jasmine Paolini in the French Open final.

Iga Swiatek (via Tennis Gazette)

However, the final at the Madrid Open was the most difficult amongst them. Swiatek nearly loss the match to her opponent but somehow managed to hang on with the win. During the aforementioned interview, she revealed that the Madrid Open victory was the highlight of the year.

I think the victory in Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros. These three tournaments together created a great story. Each one was completely different. I remember the emotions after winning the final in Madrid. I admit that it was probably my best match I’ve ever played in my life in terms of the atmosphere and the tension in us. The fact that I won it was something incredible. These are exactly the emotions that an athlete strives for.

Iga Swiatek said

After the French Open victory, Swiatek didn’t reach any other tournament final until the end of the season. In fact, the 23-year-old managed only one semifinal and failed to defend two titles, including the WTA Finals.