Iga Swiatek was left in tears after being forced to retire from her third-round Madrid Open match, just minutes after having her vital signs checked by medical staff.
The Pole had dropped the first set 7-6(4) to American Ann Li and looked rusty on Manolo Santana Stadium before responding strongly to take the second set 6-2.
However, the hot conditions in the Spanish capital appeared to take their toll on Swiatek, who quickly fell a break down in the decider.
She opted to take a medical timeout and told the tournament doctor she wasn’t feeling well, before having her vitals checked at 3-0 down and ultimately retiring from the match.
The former world No. 1 has, so far, struggled during the clay-court season, having reached the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open before falling to Mirra Andreeva for the first time in her career.
In her opening match in Madrid, Swiatek produced an impressive 6-1, 6-2 victory over Daria Snigur.
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“The last two days were pretty terrible,” she stated during her post-match press conference.
“I think I have some virus, so I know you guys want your answers, but you better watch out. So it’s been, you know, some hours fine, some hours pretty bad, so high heart [sic].
“There is something going on between players that the virus is somewhere on site, so I’m sure I’ll be fine in a couple of days, but I had zero energy and zero stability.
“I just felt really bad physically and yesterday even worse so I thought maybe today it’s going to be better but maybe it was but not enough to play a tennis match.
“Well I still felt like I had a chance but then in the third set I started feeling even like a little bit dizzy and not really coordinated so I couldn’t really drink anything because I just felt like I’m full constantly and the energy went down drastically.
“Until the third set started, I felt like I still have a chance. So this was the case right now. But I don’t remember the second time I retired.”
Her match against Li marks the Pole’s first mid-match retirement since her Rome quarter-final against Elena Rybakina in 2023.
The American collects her second top-10 victory and will next play Canadian Leylah Fernandez.
Last season, Swiatek reached the semi-finals of the Madrid Open, where she was comprehensively beaten by Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-1.
As a result, she was defending 390 ranking points and will now drop 325 of them, adding to a difficult stretch for the Pole.
She could drop to world No 3 if Gauff reaches the final or Amanda Anisimova wins the title.
Swiatek will next compete at the Italian Open, which takes place from May 5 to 17.
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