Iga Swiatek's difficult 2026 season continued as she retired in tears during her third-round match at the Madrid Open. The former world number one, who has not advanced beyond the quarter-finals this year, was trailing American Ann Li 6-7 (4) 6-2 0-3 0-30 when she pulled out.
Swiatek revealed she is battling a virus, having had her temperature and blood pressure checked after losing the opening two games of the deciding set. “The last two days were pretty terrible,” she said. “I think I have some virus. It’s been some hours fine, some hours pretty bad. I heard there is something going on between players, that the virus is somewhere on site.”
The fourth seed initially continued after taking pills but looked lethargic and decided to stop. “In the third set I started feeling a little bit dizzy and not really coordinated,” she added. “I couldn’t really drink anything because I just felt like I’m full constantly, and the energy went down drastically.”
Swiatek will now focus on recovery before the Italian Open in Rome next month, where she hopes to find form under new coach Francisco Roig ahead of Roland Garros. “It’s sad for me that I can’t play because I was feeling really good with my game,” she said.
In other matches, two-time grand slam finalist Jasmine Paolini lost 7-5 6-3 to Hailey Baptiste. In the men’s singles, second seed Alexander Zverev beat Mariano Navone 6-1 3-6 6-3, while defending champion Casper Ruud won 6-0 6-1 against Jaume Munar.
