WATCH: Iga Swiatek bursts into tears during an interview after a tough loss against Qinwen Zheng

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek was seen crying after going down to Qinwen Zheng in the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

WATCH: Iga Swiatek bursts into tears during an interview after a tough loss against Qinwen Zheng

Iga Swiatek (via Imago and X)

Iga Swiatek‘s 25-match win streak at Roland Garros and her hopes of winning an Olympic gold for Poland were both crushed by China’s Qinwen Zheng in a dramatic match on Thursday (August 1). The Chinese No. 1 triumphed 6-2, 7-5 over the World No.1.

The match saw Swiatek express her frustration at not meeting the expectations she has of herself. The usually calm youngster was in complete disarray throughout the match and also lost a 3-0 lead in the second set. 

After the difficult loss to the 2024 Australian Open finalist, Swiatek was seen in tears during an interview. She will not be contesting for gold in her second Olympics appearance but will have a shot at the bronze medal.

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The Pole will play the loser of the other semifinal between Croatia’s Donna Vekic and Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the bronze medal match. Zheng, meanwhile, will take on the winner of that match for the coveted gold medal. 

Qinwen Zheng overcame almost five hours of play in two days to reach Paris Olympics final

On July 31, Zheng endured one of her toughest tests against Angelique Kerber. In a match that lasted over three hours, she knocked out the German after the latter had saved three match points in a row in the last match of her career. 

Qinwen Zheng
Qinwen Zheng (Image via Imago)

A determined Kerber went down fighting and will no longer be competing on the professional tour. While Zheng had to face the World No. 1 without a lot of rest, she showed that she was up for the challenge. She dominated Iga Swiatek, who was one of the favorites to win gold.

After two days of intense play, Zheng has earned some much-needed rest before the final on Saturday.

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