PARIS — Iga Swiatek will have to wait four more years for her next chance at an Olympic gold medal after the Polish top seed was shocked by China’s Zheng Qinwen in the semifinals at Roland Garros on Thursday, her first loss there since 2021.
Swiatek, the overwhelming favorite for gold after a third successive French Open title this year confirmed her as the Queen of Clay, was outplayed 6-2, 7-5 on Court Philippe Chatrier in the latest stunner in the women’s singles bracket in the 2024 Games.
In snapping Swiatek’s 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros, Australian Open runner-up Zheng became the first Chinese player to reach the singles final at an Olympic tournament. The country’s previous best singles result at the Olympics was Li Na finishing fourth at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Zheng, who did not even have to bring her A-game against a badly off-key Swiatek, will face either Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova or Croatia’s Donna Vekic for the gold medal. Swiatek will have a match for a bronze medal.
“I’m so happy that I could make history for Chinese tennis because I always wanted to be one of the athletes who can get a medal for China, for our country,” 21-year-old Zheng said.
“Right now I’m one of them, but I know the fight is not over it’s not the end.”
With many big names missing from the Olympic singles and with top seeds having already fallen, Swiatek had looked odds on to add the Olympic gold to her five Grand Slam titles.
She held a 6-0 career record against Zheng, but the 23-year-old Swiatek picked the worst possible time to produce one of her worst displays of the season, spraying 36 unforced errors.
Swiatek was in tears during a TV interview afterwards.
“I just had a hole in my backhand. It happens rarely because it is usually my most solid strike,” she told Eurosport Poland.
Swiatek looked uncomfortable in the hot and humid conditions, struggling to find her range with shots often missing the lines by meters as the first set slid away.
After a bathroom break to re-set she seemed to have regained control in the second set as she went 4-0 ahead.
But it proved a false dawn as the errors returned and Zheng took full advantage to claw her way back.
Swiatek dropped serve at 5-5 and Zheng then kept cool as she served for victory — banging a first serve on to the line on match point that her opponent thought had landed out.
A quick check from the umpire confirmed Swiatek’s fate.
–Reuters, Special to Field Level Media
