Injured Swiatek Forced To Retire Against Rybakina In Rome

| by Zachary Wimer

Iga Swiatek couldn't finish her quarterfinal match against Elena Rybakina at the 2023 Italian Open in Rome.

The young Pole is one of the biggest favourites for the upcoming Roland Garros but her chances may be dashed by the injury that she picked up during a quarterfinal clash against one of her current rivals on the WTA Tour, Elena Rybakina.

The match showcased the highest level of tennis but unfortunately for fans at Foro Italico, it couldn't be finished as the world no. 1 elected to retire in the third set of the match due to an injury that she picked up in the second set.

Early in the match, even a phone that rang in Swiatek's bag didn't disturb her as she was very dominant in the first set. The Pole broke in the first game and added one more break in the third to win the first set 6-2.

Swiatek had a clear advantage also in the second set after she broke immediately in the first game. However, Rybakina wanted to fight for every point and she did that. Despite facing six more break points in the set, she used her only chance to break back and saved all of the break points that she faced.

WATCH: Hilarious Scenes As Swiatek's Phone Starts Ringing Mid-Match
WATCH: Hilarious Scenes As Swiatek's Phone Starts Ringing Mid-Match

Thanks to that, the Kazakh took the match into a tie-break. The score was tied at 3-3 and that's when Rybakina's journey toward winning the second set started. She won four consecutive points to win the tie-break 7-3 and take the match into a decider.

However, the moment that stole everyone's attention during the tie-break was when Swiatek seemed to have injured herself and subsequently requested an off-court medical timeout that she took between the sets.

The Pole then returned to the court but after both players won two of their service games, Swiatek announced that she won't be able to continue and retired from the match. That means that Rybakina advanced to the 2023 Italian Open semifinals and she will now focus on her match against the 20th-seeded Jelena Ostapenko.

On the other hand, for Swiatek, the injury brings a lot of worries ahead of the Roland Garros. She's the top favourite and an injury could ruin her chances of winning the event. However, it's also possible that she retired from the match to preserve her body, thinking about what's to come in the upcoming weeks.

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