‘I Wasn’t Able to Play Against Her’ – Iga Swiatek on Serena Williams’ Retirement

It has been an emotional comeback for Serena Williams to tennis. She returned to the WTA Tour after around a year of absence due to a hamstring injury. Shortly after making her comeback, the 23-time Grand Slam champion announced her sudden retirement from tennis, with the US Open later this month being the last tournament of her illustrious career.

As the world sunk in this news, many fellow players heaped praise on Williams for having a memorable tennis career. World number one Iga Swiatek also reacted to this news.

Iga Swiatek reveals unfulfilled wish of playing against Serena Williams

The Polish star is currently in Toronto to participate in the National Bank Open. During the post-match press conference after her second-round victory, Swiatek talked about Williams’ sudden retirement from tennis. She said, “Pretty sad I wasn’t able to play against her. Maybe I’ll have the chance.” 

Further, she added, “Being able to do business and tennis at the same time, but also be a mother and do four Slam finals, is amazing. I’d be happy to have that belief that maybe I can do that.”

Iga Swiatek is enjoying the most successful season of her tennis career. Earlier this year, she won the French Open apart from other tournaments. Additionally, she was on a 37-match winning streak that ended at Wimbledon.

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At the National Bank Open, Swiatek received a bye in the opening round. Further, in the second round, she defeated Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the next round. In the pre-quarterfinals, Swiatek will take on Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Serena’s campaign at the National Bank Open ends

The 23-time Grand Slam champion played her final match in Canada as she lost out to Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the second round of the National Bank Open. Following her defeat, Serena Williams got emotional during the post-match interview as she received a huge round of applause from fans.

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Serena Williams will be seen in action again next week at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati. Following this, she’ll head to New York to participate in the US Open.