New Delhi: A day after Iga Swiatek retired from the Italian Open quarterfinals with a right thigh injury, the world No 1 player offered a hopeful prognosis saying the injury "shouldn't be anything serious", adding that she is pretty positive and will be back on the court soon.
In the match against Elena Rybakina, on Wednesday, Swiatek pulled out with the match tied at two games apiece in the third set. She initially sustained the injury in the second-set tiebreak and called for a medical timeout.
Despite her efforts to carry on, Swiatek eventually had to decide to forfeit the match. Before the injury, she was on a 14-match winning streak in Rome.
"Basically, during the second set, at the end of the tiebreaker, I felt pain in my right thigh. I was, like, pretty sudden. At the beginning, I didn't really know if it was serious or not.
"We did an examination with the physio afterwards. It shouldn't be anything serious, so I'm pretty positive that I'll be back soon," Swiatek was quoted by the Tennis Majors website.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]The 21-year-old Pole is a three-time major champion and the reigning Roland Garros champion. She has held her position as the top-ranked player for 59 consecutive weeks.
Reigning Wimbledon champion, Rybakina, has been a difficult opponent for Swiatek this year, defeating her in both Australia and Indian Wells.
After her loss to Rybakina in the fourth round of the Australian Open, Swiatek has consistently performed well, reaching at least the semifinals in every subsequent event. She emerged as the champion in both Qatar and Stuttgart tournaments.
"For sure I feel tired," she said. "I think it was the right decision to stop playing because I felt pain when I was stretching, when I did, like, harder movements,"
From the start of Stuttgart to her withdrawal in Rome, Swiatek has played every week. The extra few days of rest, she said, will do her good as she wants to play safe and do not want to exploit her body much.
"For sure I feel tired. I think it was the right decision to stop playing because I felt pain when I was stretching, when I did, like, harder movements.
"For me, the most important thing is to kind of play it safe and not exploit my body so much in such difficult conditions, after having to play a few matches in night session and after midnight.
"To be ready for Roland Garros I need to recover right now. I'm going to take a couple of days off. With my quarterfinal loss, I have also time to then practice right before the tournament. I'm happy right now to have a few days off because since Stuttgart I wasn't really able to recover with that tight schedule that we have on WTA."
The French Open begins on May 28 in Paris.