Paris 2024: Iga Swiatek claims bronze, blitzing Anna Karolina Schmiedlova for Poland's first Olympic medal in tennis
World No.1 tennis star Iga Swiatek has bounced back after a disappointing semi-final loss at Paris 2024 to claim the bronze medal in women's singles.
The 23-year-old needed just 59 minutes to beat Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, earning Poland its first-ever Olympic medal in the sport, with Swiatek winning 6-1, 6-2 inside Court Philippe-Chatrier on Friday (2 August) afternoon.
Swiatek fell in the semis to Zheng Qinwen of the People's Republic of China, marking the first time the four-time and reigning French Open champion had lost at Stade Roland-Garros since 2021.
Swiatek's father, Tomasz Swiatek, is a former rower who competed in the men's quadruple sculls for Poland at Seoul 1988.
The Olympic platform was one that Swiatek didn't take lightly.
"The tension and the stress that was with me for the whole week makes [the bronze] even more special," Swiatek told reporters. "I have never felt anything like that, even in the Grand Slams, so it wasn’t easy... and having a medal is a dream come true.
Swiatek arrived at the Olympic tennis event as the heavy favourite, both as the world No.1 as well as the Roland-Garros champion in 2020, 2022, 2023 and just a few weeks ago in 2024.
But world No.7 Zheng is having a breakout season after reaching the Australian Open final earlier this year. She'll meet Donna Vekic of Croatia in the women's gold medal match on Saturday (3 August).
Iga Swiatek says she's proud of bouncing back after semi-final loss
Swiatek is a five-time major champion, having won the 2022 US Open in addition to her four titles at the French Open. She first reached the world No.1 ranking in early 2022 after then-No.1 Ashleigh Barty of Australia retired.
She's been utterly dominant on red clay, which the Olympics were being staged on for the first time since Barcelona 1992. But after her loss to the 21-year-old Zheng, Swiatek said she spent hours steeping herself in disappointment for not keeping her dream of a gold medal alive.
"I am mostly proud of myself that after yesterday, I could come out today and just enjoy playing tennis," she explained. "Because yesterday was one of the toughest losses I remember in my career.”
"It’s sport, it’s tennis, [and] usually I am good to understand it’s just one part of my life," she continued. "But this time it was like someone really broke my heart. It’s crazy."
Swiatek showed no signs of a slump on court on Friday, jumping out to a 5-2 lead over Schmiedlova and then clinching it off of a backhand error from the world No.67.
With Poland's first Olympic medal in tennis secured, Swiatek is taking more lessons from her stay in Paris than she previously expected.
“Maybe because I am world No.1 for such a long time and won so many tournaments, I felt like I can handle everything," she said. "But this tournament showed me it is not the case."