Iga Swiatek was widely expected to win the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but she didn't, ending up with the bronze medal, and it surprised her rival Aryna Sabalenka.
The Belarusian has battled Swiatek numerous times on the WTA Tour and knows how strong the Polish player is. They've also battled on clay, and Sabalenka beat the Pole on clay, which is another result that is really hard to achieve.
In fact, before her loss to Qinwen Zheng at the Paris Olympics, Swiatek won 31 of the last 32 matches she played on the red clay of Paris.
That's why so many were shocked by Zheng's victory over the World No. 1, as she comfortably outplayed her. Sabalenka was certainly among them because the Belarusian player, who opted to skip the Olympics, told the media in Washington that she expected Swiatek to win the gold medal.
As we know, she ended up only with the bronze medal, something she admitted left her with mixed emotions. Sabalenka didn't really watch the match or follow the matches that closely because she was mostly focused on herself and her return from injury, but she did see bits and pieces of what happened in the French capital.
She has been on record saying that she doesn't watch women's tennis or tennis in general, which is not that unusual for a tennis player.
"I'm so embarrassed to say that, but I didn't really followed it. I was just checking result at the end of the day, watching a little bit of each sport, but not really. Right now I'm, like, not in the best stage I would say coming back after injury and trying to focus on myself. Yeah, I'm following a little bit."
One match that Sabalenka said she might end up watching is the final match because. She praised the efforts of both Qinwen Zheng and Donna Vekic, while also recognizing that their meeting was a surprise because she expected Swiatek to win the Olympic Games.
"I don't want to say something bad about the players. Honestly, of course, I expected Iga to win a gold medal. It's Paris. That's her place. That's what my expectation was."
"But girls are playing incredible tennis. I think this final going to be be really cool to watch. Yeah, I'm probably -- not probably - I'm going to watch the final if I'm not going to play my match. I'm sure this is going to be really great battle."
Overall, the Olympic tennis event has been full of surprises, with the top seeds, Swiatek and Coco Gauff, not delivering on the promises made. Sabalenka wasn't there, and Elena Rybakina wasn't there either, so other players got their chance.
Zheng and Vekic deserved it, as both have been playing at a high level, but it certainly was not the outcome anybody expected.
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