Tennis fans and commentators are sending well-wishes to Iga Swiatek after the six-time grand slam champ broke down in tears after being forced to retire from the Madrid Open. The World No.4 was trailing 0-3 in the deciding third set against American 31st seed Ann Li when she was forced to call it quits.
The Polish star had asked for the doctor after having her serve broken early in the third set. She got her vitals checked and was given the all-clear to continue, but pulled the plug on the contest soon after.
Iga Swiatek has been battling a stomach virus. Image: Getty
A four-time French Open winner and the reigning Wimbledon champ, Swiatek revealed after the match that she’d been fighting a stomach virus for the last two days and feeling “terrible”. She told reporters: “I heard there is something going on between players, that the virus is somewhere on site.
“I’m sure I’ll be fine in a couple of days, but I had zero energy and zero stability and just felt really bad physically, and yesterday even worse. I knew that it was going to be hard but I still wanted to try.
“In the third set, I started feeling a little bit dizzy and not really co-ordinated. I couldn’t really drink anything because I just felt like I’m full constantly, and the energy went down drastically.”
It marked Swiatek’s earliest exit from the Madrid Open in five career appearances. “On the court before the tournament I felt like I’m playing great, so actually it’s sad for me that I can’t play, because I was feeling really good with my game, and I was moving forward in the process, so, this was positive,” she said. “But for me the tournament has just started and I couldn’t even compete today, so it’s disappointing.”
Iga Swiatek broke down in tears as she left the court.
(Getty Images)Stomach bug sweeping through Madrid Open
Tennis fans were quick to rally around Swiatek, sending messages of support. The French Open is still a month away, where Swiatek will be one of the favourites to capture the Roland Garros title for the fifth time. The 24-year-old won the French Open in 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. She also won the US Open in 2022 and Wimbledon in 2025.
On Sunday it was Coco Gauff who became the latest victim of the stomach virus, but the American still found a way to beat Sorana Cirstea 4-6 7-5 6-1. Gauff vomited in a bin on the side of the court, but managed to prevail.
Coco Gauff overcame illness to win.
(Eurasia Sport Images via Getty Images)
“I don’t know, honestly (how I got through that),” said Gauff. “I was just trying to finish the match and one point turned into another. I think I got what everybody else is having here in Madrid, unfortunately. So, I’m just going to try to push through for tomorrow.”
Liudmila Samsonova pulled out of the tournament on Sunday due to illness ahead of her third-round match with Linda Noskova.
with agencies