Italian Open: Swiatek's injury-forced retirement ends win streak

ROME: World number six Elena Rybakina moved to the semifinals of the ongoing Italian Open after two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek was forced to retire due to an injury to her right thigh.

The reigning Wimbledon champion on Wednesday moved to her first-ever Women's Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 semifinal on clay as Swiatek retired with the game at 2-6, 7-6(3), 2-2.

Rybakina is now 3-2 versus reigning World No.1 after victories against Swiatek at the Australian Open and Indian Wells earlier this year. This is the 23-year-old's third WTA 1000 semifinal of the season.

Swiatek's retirement ends her 14-match win streak at the Foro Italico venue.

Swiatek's clay-court domination was on display and she looked to move to the semifinal. She came out of a slide wincing on the penultimate point of the second-set tiebreak.

During the set break, she took a medical timeout and returned with strapping around her upper right leg.

Swiatek eagerly tested her movement when play resumed for four games.

Swiatek walked to the net to shake hands after Rybakina held service to 2-2, bringing the 2-hour and 20-minute duel to a close.

"I was coming to this match without any expectations and I am just happy that in the second set, I started to feel much better the forehand and started to move better. So I think it was just good for me overall no matter the result. Just happy to play another match and looking forward to it," said Rybakina as quoted by WTA after the match.

"I saw something happen in the tiebreak, on almost the last point but I did not know how serious it is. I saw that the first two games she started really aggressive so I understood that she could not really move that much. but she was still making good returns and I knew that I had to be focused. I know myself that if anything is hurting you are trying to go for it and a lot of times it works. So she probably did the same, but after, I guess it was too much," added Rybakina.

Rybakina will lock horns with world number 20 Jelena Ostapenko in the semifinals on Friday.

Playing her third quarterfinal at Italian Open, Ostapenko defeated Paula Badosa to advance to her first semifinal.

Ostapenko won the match by 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 on Wednesday. Earlier on Tuesday, the world number 47 Anhelina Kalinina also registered one of the biggest wins of her career by defeating Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-3 to move to the semifinals.

The match lasted 3 hours and 41 minutes and was the biggest of the 2023 WTA Tour season.

"It feels great, but I can't feel my body or my legs," Kalinina said after her win. "I think it was the longest match of my career. thanks to my coach and thanks to my fitness coach because this win is not my win. My part is 50 per cent and 50 per cent is my fitness coach," added the player.

Kalinina will lock horns with world number 12 Veronika Kudermetova in the semifinals on Friday.

Veronika defeated world number 21 Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to make it to her second successive semifinal at WTA 1000 events.