Iga Swiatek had one brutally honest admission to make after concluding her Paris Olympics campaign as the Polish tennis superstar admitted she would have probably “cried for a week” at home if not for the bronze medal match and also added that the outcome of her Paris run will give her “a bit more humility.”
After spraying 36 unforced errors in a shock 2-6 5-7 semifinal loss to Zheng Qinwen, Swiatek was at least able to easily beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2 6-1 for the bronze medal. But the bronze medal is a far cry of what was expected from Swiatek at the Paris Olympics as many had her as the absolute favorite for the gold medal considering that she hadn’t lost at Roland Garros since 2021.
But the unexpected happened and Swiatek failed to deliver a gold medal to her nation after probably having her worst performance at Roland Garros in years.
“I probably cried for like six hours yesterday… If I hadn’t played today (Friday, for bronze), I might have cried for a week. (…) It’s like my heart has been broken. (…) I think this will give me a bit more humility,” Swiatek said.
Swiatek: A lot of mixed emotions…
Moments after losing to Zheng, Swiatek looked absolutely crushed and heartbroken and even burst into tears during a TV interview.
After winning the bronze medal, Swiatek was proud of her achievement but it was clear that she was far from her happiest.
“Honestly, [I have] really a lot of mixed emotions because obviously I would love to play in the final tomorrow,” Swiatek confessed moments after winning the bronze medal.
Also, Swiatek admitted that she felt the pressure to do well at the Olympics and that probably contributed to her poor performance in the semifinal.
“Honestly me and my sister were kind of raised with the spirit that the Olympics is the most important tournament—that’s why it wasn’t the easiest tournament—but this makes it even better,” Swiatek added.
And I’m even more proud of myself that I could do it. And I’m happy my (dad) was here to see it. This is really a great place to be and play. So I’m happy that besides Roland Garros titles I could add success to it.”
