Italian Open: Rybakina advances to Rome semifinals after Swiatek retires with injury

Rome: Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina advanced to the semifinals of the Italian Open after World No.1 Iga Swiatek was forced to retire in the third set with a right thigh injury.

Rybakina advanced to her first WTA 1000 semifinal on clay after Swiatek retired at 2-6, 7-6(3), 2-2. Rybakina will next face Jelena Ostapenko in the semifinals on Friday.

The Pole looked in pain after a desperate chase in the second set tiebreak, when her attempt to slide on the heavy clay at the bottom of the court failed and she immediately felt something in her upper right thigh.

Swiatek went for a medical time out off court and returned for the start of the decider with a big bandage, looking very cautious in her movements until she decided to stop early in the third set.

Swiatek, whose majestic 14-consecutive-match winning streak in Rome came to an end, took to social media on Friday morning to confirm she suffered a thigh injury and said “the diagnostic is in progress”.

“Hi guys. I’m sure you’re thinking about what happened last night. We’re checking it. During the second set I got a thigh injury. The diagnostic is in progress. More info in the following days. Will keep you updated,” Swiatek tweeted.

With wins over Swiatek at the Australian Open and Indian Wells earlier this year, Rybakina is now 3-2 against reigning World No.1s in her career. The 23-year-old is into her third WTA 1000 semifinal of the season.

“It’s never good to finish a match like this, especially because I think it was a good match. I hope it’s nothing serious for Iga, hopefully, she can recover soon,” said Rybakina in her on-court interview.