Iga Swiatek’s Surprising Loss to Zheng Qinwen at Paris Olympics

Iga Swiatek, the top-ranked woman and French Open champion, lost to China's Zheng Qinwen in the Paris Olympics semi-finals, 6-2, 7-5. Swiatek had a strong edge over Zheng in prior matchups. Zheng advanced to the gold-medal match, ensuring China's first singles medal in Olympic tennis since 1988.

Iga Swiatek, the No. 1-ranked woman in tennis and a dominant force at the French Open, was defeated by Zheng Qinwen of China in the Paris Olympics semi-finals on Thursday with scores 6-2, 7-5.

This unexpected outcome is significant considering Swiatek's previous 6-0 head-to-head advantage and her consistent top ranking since April 2022. Despite leading 4-0 in the second set, Swiatek faltered, allowing Zheng to secure the victory.

Zheng, the Australian Open runner-up, has thus guaranteed China its first Olympic singles tennis medal since the sport's return to the Games in 1988. She will compete for gold on Saturday against either Donna Vekic of Croatia or Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia.