Iga Swiatek has to give up in Madrid due to illness. The Polish player had caught a virus. Tears flow as she leaves the court.
The world number four Iga Swiatek has retired from the WTA tournament in Madrid exhausted. The Polish player was plagued by the consequences of a viral infection at the beginning of the third set and ended her second round match against Ann Li prematurely at 6:7 (4:7), 6:2, 0:3. The US-American is now through to the round of 16.
Swiatek visibly took the loss in her stride. She left the stadium in the Spanish capital in tears.
“I heard that there was something going around among the players. I had no energy and no stability at all and I felt really bad physically,“ said Swiatek after her retirement: ”I knew it would be tough, but I still wanted to try.”
It is the six-time Grand Slam winner’s earliest exit in her five appearances in Madrid to date. Swiatek had recently been preparing for the spring on her favorite surface at Rafael Nadal’s Tennis Academy on Mallorca.
