Iga Swiatek has spoken out about her last-minute withdrawal from the upcoming 2023 Miami Open.
World number one Swiatek was set to play in the competition, which she won last season. However, the 21-year-old pulled out this week due to an ongoing injury that also affected her in the semi-final elimination at Indian Wells against Elena Rybakina.
Speaking to reporters for the first time since her withdrawal, Swiatek explained why she pulled out of Miami so late and felt it was the right decision.
"Well, I went to wait till the last minute and we were kind of checking if this is this kind of injury that you can still play with or is it this kind when you can get things worse. So I think the smart move for me is to pull out of this tournament because I want to rest and take care of it properly."
Also, Swiatek felt the injury was only minor after the defeat at Indian Wells before it developed into a more serious concern.
"Basically. It's not like it happened in one minute or one second. It's not like a serious thing because we cut it up pretty early. So I felt like it was like a process, but, at first with these minor things, your body doesn't feel anything. So, I started to feel it at the last games against Sorana."
Last season, Swiatek won the Sunshine Double as she secured both Indian Wells and the Miami Open titles. The Polish star also won the French Open and US Open later in 2022.
When reflecting on her exceptional progress in 2022 and 2023, Swiatek acknowledged that maintaining her level has been a challenge.
"I was also aware at the beginning of the season that it's gonna be hard for me to defend all this points because it's not like, all the streaks and, you know, winning all these tournaments is, you know, like looking logically and statistically, it's not like it's gonna happen every year."
"But you know, I'm doing my best job to play as best as possible. And for sure, this tournament is not gonna help. But on the other hand, as I said, injuries happen and I didn't have any injuries since like, what, two or three years? Like three years ago."
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