Iga Swiatek provides update about thigh injury sustained in Italian Open
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek has stated that the thigh injury she sustained in her Italian Open quarter-final loss to Elena Rybakina on Wednesday, May 17, is under evaluation.
The two-time defending champion made a brisk start against Rybakina, bursting to a 3-0 double break lead before taking the opening set 6-2. The writing appeared to be on the wall for the reigning Wimbledon champion, trailing 3-1 in the second.
However, Rybakina fought back, drawing level at 4-4. She survived two break points to hold at 5-4 before a tiebreak ensued, where the Kazakh extended her near-perfect record this year to 9-1 to draw parity in the contest.
With Rybakina leading 5-3, Swiatek seemingly injured her right thigh while going for a slide as she dropped the second set. Following a lengthy medical timeout, Swiatek hung on for 2-2 before retiring. That ended her 14-match win streak at the Foro Italico as Rybakina reached her third WTA 1000 semi-final of the year and first at a claycourt event.
A day after the loss, Iga Swiatek provided an update on her injury, saying that she hopes to have more information about it in a few days. The Pole tweeted:
"Hi Guys, I'm sure you're thinking about what happened last night. We're checking it. During the second set, I got a thigh injury. The diagnostic is in progress. More info in the following days. Will keep you updated."
Hi Guys. I'm sure you're thinking about what happened last night. We're checking it. During the second set I got a thigh injury. The diagnostic is in progress. More info in the following days. Will keep you updated.
With the loss, Swiatek dropped to 27-6 on the season ahead of the French Open, where she will look to win her third title.
What Elena Rybakina said about her win against Iga Swiatek in Rome?
Elena Rybakina has 'owned' Iga Swiatek this year, with three of her six losses in 2023 coming against the Australian Open finalist.
The 23-year-old beat Swiatek at the Australian Open and Indian Wells this year and also did so on the clay in Rome, where the Pole plays her best tennis. Rybakina said about her win, especially her slow start:
"It was a really tough match, especially the beginning. I would say I didn't start that good. With Iga she was really aggressive from the beginning, she was more explosive, she was moving better.
"I was struggling with the first serve in the first set a lot, so it was not really helping me to play every time with a second serve. In the second set, I started to feel a little bit better."
Rybakina, who's now 3-2 lifetime against Swiatek, takes on Jelena Ostapenko on Friday, May 19, for a place in the Italian Open final.