Iga Swiatek's physio has rejected suggestions that he urged the injured star to continue playing during her Wuhan Open semi-final defeat, insisting he told her three times to stop.
The seventh seed was left in tears mid-match as she lost 7-5 6-1 to countrywoman Maja Chwalinska on Saturday. Swiatek led 5-3 in the opening set and served for it, but then lost 10 of the last 11 games.
Physio responds to fan speculation
Swiatek received a medical timeout towards the end of the first set and was seen crying at the start of the second as she discussed whether to retire. She played on, winning just one more game with heavy strapping on her thigh.
Some fans questioned why the six-time Major champion did not quit, speculating that her coaches were telling her to continue. Physio Maciej Ryszczuk has now responded on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"I told her three times to stop the match because it's bad for her health. She made the decision herself to continue playing, and since she made that one, I support her as much as I can," he wrote.
WTA Finals race and injury admission
The 25-year-old may have been keen to push through in a bid to qualify for the WTA Finals, with just one spot left in the season-ending championships. Swiatek sits a few hundred points behind Karolina Muchova in the race, while Marta Kostyuk could overtake both to clinch the final place in Indian Wells.
Given her physical woes, the world No. 9 could opt to end her season altogether. She is currently set to compete in the upcoming Ningbo Open, where she has a bye directly into the second round.
The former world No. 1 later confirmed she had been carrying a quad injury throughout the tournament but did not want to retire, to allow Chwalinska to have her moment.
"From the beginning of the tournament, I kind of felt pain in my quad," she said. "I've been able to manage that day by day and we were already thinking of withdrawing after I played with Magda [Frech] in the first round but I was quite able to play normal, so I wanted to push, and we knew that it's nothing like that it's gonna get worse or something, so in that case, you just need to block it out."
"But today was just too much, and that's unfortunate because I felt like we're playing great tennis and wanted to continue. Later on, I knew it's going to be tough to win, but I didn't want to honestly retire because I wanted Maja to win it normally."
Chwalinska faces British ace in final
Chwalinska will face British ace Sonay Kartal in the Wuhan Open final after beating Swiatek. The No. 16 seed reached the French Open final as a qualifier in the spring and is now seeking a maiden WTA Tour title.
"I really hope she's going to be okay soon and hope she will qualify (for the WTA Finals)," Chwalinska said of Swiatek.
