Olympic Tennis Gets Feisty in Heated Quarterfinal Match

With gold medals at stake, the Olympics were already going to be intense. The scorching heat in Paris has only raised the temperature of the competition.

On Wednesday, the women’s tennis tournament had one marquee match boil over with animosity involving the world’s top-ranked player.

Five-time major champion Iga Swiatek of Poland defeated USA’s Danielle Collins in a three-set victory that was cut short by Collins’ stomach muscle injury. The American had to retire from the quarterfinal match after falling behind 4-1 in the third set.

The 30-year-old Collins has announced she will be retiring from elite-level tennis this year. One player she won’t miss is Swiatek.

Swiatek entered the match having won six of seven career meetings against Collins. Wednesday’s encounter was full of animosity. At one point, an annoyed Collins, while serving, apparently took issue with Swiatek taking too much time between points.

Swiatek won the first set 6-2, but Collins stormed back to win the second 6-1. In the first game of the third set, Collins blasted a two-hand backhand that hit Swiatek at the net. The body blow dropped Swiatek to the ground and left her in pain while holding her midsection. Collins showed good sportsmanship by walking over to check on Swiatek and asked “Iga, are you OK?”

“I could not breathe for a moment. It hurt for a bit,” Swiatek told reporters after the match. “But with the adrenaline that you have on court, you don’t feel as much as you should.”

After falling into a 3-0 hole in the third set, Collins took a medical timeout. She ultimately had to retire due to injury after consulting with a trainer during a changeover while down 4-1. The decision brought tears to Collins’ eyes.

The players shook hands after the match, but words were exchanged between the two.

In her post-match press conference, Collins said she suffered from cramps due to the heat wave in Paris. She criticized Olympic organizers for not “prioritizing the health of the athletes,” and she had more words for her opponent, accusing Swiatek of being “insincere” about Collins’ injury.

The 23-year-old Swiatek will get to continue her pursuit for a second title this year on the red clay of Roland Garros. Last month, she won her fourth French Open singles title. On Thursday, she will face sixth-seeded Zheng Qinwen of China in the Olympic semifinals.