“Last Two Days Were Pretty Terrible” – Swiatek Details Illness that Forced Her Retirement on Sunday in Madrid

Iga Swiatek has been suffering from illness in Madrid, which explains her retirement midway through the third set of her 6-7(6), 2-6, 3-0 RET loss to American Ann Li on Saturday in Madrid. 

During the loss Swiatek struggled physically throughout. 

“Last two days were pretty terrible,” she told reporters in Madrid. “I think I have some virus, so I know you guys want your answers, but you better watch out. 

“There is something going on between players that the virus is somewhere on site, so I’m sure I’ll be fine in a couple of days, but I had zero energy and zero stability. I just felt really bad physically and yesterday even worse so I thought maybe today it’s going to be better but maybe it was, but not enough to play a tennis match.” 

Asked what it meant to her to retire for just the second time in her career, Swiatek said she felt like she had a chance until the third set commenced, then it was just too much. 

“I still felt like I had a chance but then in the third set I started feeling…  a little bit dizzy and not really coordinated so I couldn’t really drink anything because I just felt like I’m full constantly and the energy went down drastically. Until the third set started, I felt like I still had a chance. So this was the case right now. But I don’t remember the [other time] I retired.”

Swiatek retired in Rome in 2023 during her quarterfinal with Elena Rybakina, with a thigh injury. 

She went on to win her third Roland-Garros title later that year. 

The six-time major champion will head to Rome with a 2-2 record on clay this year. She has still yet to reach a semifinal in 2026, going 0-4 in quarterfinals through the first four months of the season.