Iga Swiatek refuses umpire handshake and storms out interview in tears after Olympics semi-final loss

Iga Swiatek was left in tears after losing to Qinwen Zheng in the Olympic semi-final. The world No 1 refused to shake the chair umpire's hand following her 6-2 7-5 defeat and later walked away from an interview to cry .

The Pole had not lost a match on the clay courts of Stade Roland Garros since 2021 and the defeat ended her 25-match winning streak at the venue .

Although she still has a shot at the bronze medal, Swiatek made it no secret that Olympic gold had been her goal for years . Zheng raced through the opening set 6-2 before Swiatek responded, taking a 4-0 lead in the second.

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She suddenly lost four games in a row, though, as the Chinese star edged closer to the gold medal match . The No. 6 seed earned one more break and closed out the victory with a huge serve that Swiatek couldn't get back into play.

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As Zheng collapsed to the ground , the 23-year-old called the umpire down to the court to check the ball mark for her opponent's serve. Miriam Bley confirmed it was on the line and returned to her chair as Swiatek and Zheng shook hands at the net. As Zheng approached the official for a handshake, Swiatek walked on and ignored her.

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After the match, the five-time Grand Slam champion was set to complete her media duties and started a TV interview with Eurosport. But she bowed her head and started crying halfway through, walking off as the interviewer ended the conversation.

Swiatek was overcome with emotion after her match , hiding her face with her hands as she wept. Choosing to forgo the remainder of her obligatory mixed zone interviews, she left.

The loss hit Swiatek hard, a four-time champion at French Open who has dominated at the famous Stade Roland Garros. With dreams of clinching the gold medal , especially since the tennis competitions were held on her preferred surface, Swiatek knew this was a golden opportunity gone awry.

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Despite the crushing defeat, Swiatek still has a shot at the bronze , ready to face off against the loser of the semi-final between Donna Vekic and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. The fight for Olympic gold will have to wait for Swiatek until the LA 2028 Games.

Further controversy enveloped the top seed during her quarter-final when Danielle Collins, her American opponent, retired hurt in the third set and exchanged words with Swiatek at the net. Later, Collins revealed: "I told Iga she didn't have to be insincere about, you know, my injury."

Collins continued to express her discontent about how players behave differently in front of the camera compared to behind the scenes, stating: "There's a lot that happens on camera, and there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma and come out and are one way on camera and another way in the locker room.

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"I just haven't had the best experience , and I don't really feel like anybody needs to be insincere. They can be the way that they are. I can accept that, and I don't need to be fake."

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