Defending champion Iga Swiatek withdraws from Miami Open hours before her opener, opts out of BJK Cup too
Defending champion and World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will be a notable absentee from the Miami Open and the BJK Cup matches later this month.
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Iga Swiatek
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek is caught in injuries and as a result, is forced to the sidelines. Ever since her return to the Tour since the 2023 Australian Open, the Pole has not been keeping well. In Doha, she was taken down by an infection but she still managed to beat Jessica Pegula in the finals.
Next up was the Dubai Championships where she lost to Barbora Krejcikova in the finals. Upon her loss, she revealed that she was not fully fit. Under the guidance of her medical team, she continued playing reaching the semis in the Indian Wells as the defending champion. Having lost the title there, she was expected to turn up in Miami where she was the defending champion again. However, with hours to go for her match in Miami, she has chosen to withdraw.
Taking to her Twitter handle she posted, “You know that in and after Doha I was struggling with a strong infection. I was allowed to play, but a strong episode of tough cough led to a rib injury. We were trying to handle it and continue to play as long as it was safe for me. We were analyzing the data in the last days and my doctor prepared my diagnosis. Unfortunately, I’m still feeling a lot of discomfort and pain and I can’t compete.
“I need to take a break to recover and I have to pull out of the Miami Open and Billie Jean King Cup. I will keep you updated about where I play next, because it depends on my process of recovering and the recommendation of my medical team, I have the best team behind me, we only need some time to deal with the injury.
“It’s a truly difficult call to not play in Miami and BJKC, but health is the most important… I’m grateful this is the first health issue in a long time and I was able to compete in perfect shape for so long, but that’s sports, it happens sometimes, without our control… Time to accept it and get well as soon as possible,” concluded the Pole.
Iga Swiatek drops points again as others catch up
The start of the 2023 season has not been good for Iga Swiatek. While she has been consistent in making deep runs, the standard that she set in 2022 has not been achieved however. A hot favorite for the title in Melbourne Park, Swiatek lost to eventual runner-up Elena Rybakina in the fourth round. The Kazakh proved a hurdle for her in Indian Wells as well.
While she failed to win titles, her ranking points took continuous hits. Having started the season with 11085 points, Swiatek’s tally now stands at 8975 following her withdrawal from Miami. World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka is at 6740 points, still a lead of more than 2200 points for the Pole. Nevertheless, she needs to defend well in the upcoming clay season.
In 2022, Swiatek had a golden time in the Golden Swing. She won three titles from the four finals she played in. The titles included the WTA-500 event in Stuttgart and a successful title defense at the WTA-1000 Rome Open. She capped it off with her second French Open title to go undefeated on Clay. She however chose to return to the surface for the inaugural Warsaw Open where she lost in the quarter-finals ending her Clay season for 2022 with an 18-1 record.
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Sarthak Shitole
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