Olympic Blunder Gives Iga Swiatek a Surprise Shot at Redemption After Heartbreaking Loss!

In a stunning semifinal at the Paris Olympics, Qinwen Zheng defeated World No. 1 Iga Swiatek 6-2, 7-5, breaking Swiatek’s undefeated streak against her. Swiatek, a four-time French Open champion, had never lost to Zheng before.

Swiatek started strong in the second set with a 4-0 lead but couldn’t maintain her momentum. Now, she will compete for the bronze medal against the loser of the Donna Vekic-Anna Karolina Schmiedlova match. A tight schedule could give Swiatek an edge as her opponent will have little rest before the match.

A tennis insider noted the scheduling issue:

Women's bronze medal match is actually 2pm tomorrow so the loser of Vekic-Schmiedlova will finish the match around 11pm/midnight and comeback at 2pm to… face Swiatek for a medal on Chatrier. Gosh. https://t.co/qUHrNRl1Bo

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) August 1, 2024

Swiatek was visibly emotional after the match, breaking down in tears during a Polish interview and skipping the umpire’s handshake:

Iga Swiatek in tears after her loss to Qinwen Zheng at the Olympics. 💔

Very sad to see this. She wanted it so badly.

But she has to be so proud of what she’s done on this court.

4 Roland Garros titles at 23 years old is insane.

Chin up. ❤️

pic.twitter.com/u9YXtJfFJZ

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 1, 2024

Zheng, now guaranteed at least a silver medal, will aim for gold, while Swiatek seeks redemption in the bronze medal match.