Iga Swiatek was knocked out of the Olympic singles draw by China’s Zheng Qinwen, just hours after being slammed by American Danielle Collins following their bad-tempered match.
The Polish tennis star has been unbeatable on the claycourts at Roland Garros, dating all the way back to 2021.
She’s won three consecutive French Open titles on the bounce and was the strong favourite to win Olympic gold.
The Polish star made light work of her opponents in the early rounds, beating Irina-Camelia Begu, Diane Parry and Xiy Wang in straight sets.
But the No 1 seed faced a much tougher test against American Collins, who announced earlier this year that she would be retiring at the end of the season.
Iga Swiatek faced Danielle Collins on Wednesday
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The match went to a deciding set, where Collins inadvertently hit Swiatek with a wicked backhand that left her opponent in pain on the floor.
Swiatek eventually got up while holding her chest before resuming play, but Collins later required medical attention that ultimately forced her to concede the match.
Collins, who later explained she she suffered ‘heat stroke’, was seen giving Swiatek a piece of her mind after retiring from the match with the 30-year-old revealed what was said.
“I told Iga she didn’t have to be insincere about my injury,” Collins said.
“There’s a lot that happens on camera, and there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma and come out and are one way on camera and another way in the locker room.
“I just haven’t had the best experience, and I don’t really feel like anybody needs to be insincere.
“They can be the way that they are. I can accept that, and I don’t need the fakeness.”
Swiatek went on to face Zheng in the semi-finals and the five-time Grand Slam champion suffered a shock defeat.
The top seed was guilty of making repeated mistakes at key parts of the match with Zheng pouncing at every opportunity.
Iga Swiatek had an eventful couple of days
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Swiatek lost the match by missing a return as the world No 7 progressed to the Olympic final.
Zheng is the first Chinese player to reach the final of an Olympic singles event.
She said: “I feel more than just happy, happy’s not enough to describe my emotions right now. Every match I have been through a lot of pressure, I really want to get a medal for my country and now I am there.
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Zheng Qinwen pulled off a shock win over Iga Swiatek
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“To beat Iga in this stage is absolutely not easy, I’ve had a of lot matches against Iga, I’m always the one who misses more than her and I’m always the one to have more winners than her but I always lose the match.
“So today I just had to be more patient than Iga, if she wants to get that match she has to make winners all the time and it’s on clay, it’s not easy, that’s my gameplan.
“I’m out of sleep, I’m super-tired, my body is in a limit but I don’t know why in this tournament I have this extra energy hold me up. Today even though I’m tired I’m able to push, even now if you ask me to play three hours more for my country I can do it again.”