WATCH: Iga Swiatek receives a code violation right before her match against Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open 2023

The Polish star fell foul of the rules even before the fourth round match against Elena Rybakina started.

WATCH: Iga Swiatek receives a code violation right before her match against Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open 2023

Iga Świątek - Getty Images

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek became the latest casualty in the list of top seeds crashing out of the 2023 Australian Open. The Polish star lost to Elena Rybakina in the fourth round in straight sets. The overwhelming favorite before the match did not show up at all after being ruthless throughout the week earlier. 

The 6-4, 6-4 defeat of the top seed against the reigning Wimbledon champion in Rod Laver Arena surprised everyone. But a closer look suggests that Rybakina was not a pushover and complacency on Swiatek’s part could have come into play affecting the three-time Grand Slam champion’s game. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wez226SmlKM

The Pole did not get the expected start. Even before the match began. In a bizarre turn of events, Swiatek received a code violation after she fell foul of rules around how long players are allowed before the end of the warm-up and the start of the match.

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The rule gives players only one minute after the chair umpire calls time before they have to serve the first ball. Swiatek took too long and ended with a code violation that left her confused. 

 Related: Wimbledon champ Elena Rybakina dumps top seed Iga Swiatek out of Australian Open

Elena Rybakina celebrates her ‘big victory’ over Iga Swiatek

Elena Rybakina

The Kazakh player was content with her performance against Iga Swiatek. “Today I was serving really good, just struggling on one side but I think in the important moments I played really well so it made a big difference. I’m nervous every time I go out onto the court. It’s a big win and I’m just happy to get through another round,” she said in the post-match interview. 

Swiatek is not the first among the top seeds from both women’s and men’s sides to crash out in an unanticipated manner. She joined the list of names including Spanish top seed Rafael Nadal, Norwegian Casper Ruud, last year’s finalist Daniil Medvedev, and World No. 2 Ons Jabeur among others. The exodus of the top seeds in the early rounds is something not happened in Australian Open in recent times.

Rybakina, the Russian-born Kazakh has never been past the third round at Melbourne Park. After her memorable win over Swiatek, she will now play Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in the quarter-finals. 

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