Swiatek's distress as she cried for 6 hours after her Olympic defeat

After winning the bronze medal, beating Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (6-2, 6-1), Iga Swiatek opened up about the distress she felt after her semi-final defeat by Zheng Qinwen on Thursday (6-2, 7-5). The world No. 1 explained that she had never felt such pressure.

This pressure is due to the predominant place occupied by the Olympic Games in her imagination, to having the responsibility of winning for others, and to her status as super-favorite for the gold medal.

A pressure that first nipped at her heels (36 unforced errors for 13 winners), then left her completely shattered at the end of the match. But she rallied to finish 3rd and win a bronze medal that means so much to her.

Iga Swiatek: "At the Tokyo Olympics (beaten in the 2nd round), I didn't have the super-favorite status I had at these Games in Paris. Here (in the semi-finals), I couldn't move naturally, even though clay is my favourite surface and I was brought up on it, so to speak. I could see the points passing as if I were outside the action.

All my life, I've played for myself. This week, I was there for my coaches, my country and the Polish public. Of course, I didn't discover it when I got here, but I had underestimated what it meant to me, the depth of my feelings.

After the match (against Zheng), I cried for exactly six hours. I know I have to tell myself it's only a small part of my life, but it broke my heart. I thought I could handle it, but I was overwhelmed, it's madness.

After the defeat, I sat down with my mental coach, Daria Abramowicz, and my whole team. I had to share. I knew there was a bronze medal to be won, and that I had to concentrate on my work. But believe me, it wasn't easy. The question was: Who am I playing for? For myself? No, for others, that's what I had to understand. And then I went back out on the court. And here I am, with bronze, I haven't cracked.

If you ask me what meaning this bronze medal has for me, when I've won Grand Slam titles, I'll tell you that I've never felt such stress and that, despite that, I came out of that week a medallist."