A tearful Iga Swiatek dabbed her eyes while seated on the sidelines of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Sure, she fetched a bronze medal, Poland’s maiden tennis medal at the Olympics. However, make no mistake, those were not purely tears of joy. Swiatek hoped for much more. In fact, she worked to the bone in hopes of claiming the top spot of the quadrennial event’s podium.

The Polish superstar had a bitter-sweet end to her Olympic dream run in Paris. Despite furnishing laudable results on the clay courts of Roland Garros, having won the Slam three consecutive times and four in total, she couldn’t fetch the elusive gold. Moreover, her extensive physical therapies couldn’t do the trick either. Subsequently, fans have been puzzled by what thwarted her Olympic campaign. The lingering question on everyone’s mind is, what exactly happened?

Well, don’t fret. Swiatek’s coach has answered those queries in full. While talking in an exclusive interview with the Polish daily, ‘Sport.pl‘, coach Tomasz Wiktorowski touched on what prevented Swiatek from doing justice to her Olympic goals. The 23-year-old’s coach notably highlighted that the mere pressure of bagging a gold at the multi-sport event and the overconfidence to achieve that target is what downed the Pole.

Further, Wiktorowski reiterated his stance by stating that such heartbreaking losses are part of the journey and what separates Iga Swiatek from other professionals. “We were aware of the expectations, the pressure on Iga and us. But it is part of our job, we have to deal with it every day. If there are such expectations, it means that we are doing something exceptional, and Iga is an exceptional person, an exceptional tennis player. That is the part of the puzzle.”

After suffering a straight-set loss to eventual gold medalist Qinwen Zheng in the semifinal, 6-2, 7-5, the Pole opened up about “the stress” she endured throughout the Paris Games.

Iga Swiatek wept for six hours after semifinal Olympic loss

Iga Swiatek suffered a turmoil of mixed emotions after her Olympic run in Paris came to a disheartening end. Despite all odds and enjoying her status as the crowd’s favorite, the Pole could not find her way to the top. Following her semifinal exit, the young talent gave insight into her performance and candidly voiced her feelings.

In a post-match presser, Swiatek notably highlighted that she sobbed for nearly six hours after her semifinal disaster. Further, the 23-year-old termed that the loss “wasn’t easy” for her bear and came bearing a personal toll on her. “After the match, I was pretty confused. I still feel like I lost yesterday, and that was kind of a huge loss. It was like somebody broke my heart. I’ve never felt something like it, even (at) Grand Slams. It wasn’t easy.”

Subsequently, her Olympic performance has seemingly taken a hit on her upcoming attendance in the Northern American hardcourt swing. Swiatek will be skipping the Canadian Open. She issued a statement confirming her withdrawal saying, “I’m sorry to announce that due to overall fatigue caused by the last couple of weeks on the court, I need to withdraw from the tournament in Toronto.”

However, it is to be seen if the Pole can conjure noteworthy results at the US Open this season and with it, remedy her Olympic Games disappointment to some extent.