Iga Swiatek forced to retire from Madrid Open with stomach virus

Iga Swiatek’s Madrid Open title defense ended Saturday when she retired from her third-round match against Ann Li with a gastrointestinal illness. (wtatennis.com) Li, the No. 31 seed from the United States, led 7-6(4), 2-6, 3-0 when Swiatek stopped after a medical timeout early in the third set. (wtatennis.com 1) (wtatennis.com 2) Swiatek told reporters she had been feeling bad for two days, said she thought she had “some virus,” and described having “zero energy, zero stability.” (wtatennis.com) (tennis365.com) A day later, Swiatek wrote on Instagram that it was “a real rough day,” said she would take “the next day or two to recover fully,” and pointed ahead to Rome. (tennis365.com) The loss mattered beyond Madrid because Swiatek arrived with 390 ranking points to defend from last year’s semifinal run and dropped 325 points in the live standings. (tennis365.com) Even so, she moved back up to live world No. 3 because Coco Gauff, who started Madrid six points ahead of her, later lost in the round of 16. (tennis365.com) (olympics.com) Gauff fell 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5) to Linda Noskova on Monday after leading 4-1 in the final set, while Noskova beat her for the first time. (wtatennis.com) (olympics.com) Madrid’s draw also opened further when Anastasia Potapova beat No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina 7-6(8), 6-4 in the round of 16 on Monday night. (wtatennis.com) (tennismajors.com) The tournament runs through May 3 at La Caja Mágica, and Swiatek said her next stop is the Italian Open in Rome, which begins May 5. (wtatennis.com) (tennis365.com)