Iga Swiatek withdrew from the WTA 500 Sydney International

Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek, who is the world’s No 9 in the WTA rankings, withdrew from the WTA 500 Sydney International tournament due to a rib injury. She reached the semi-finals of the WTA 500 Adelaide International last week, where was eliminated by top-seeded Ashleigh Barty with 2-0 (6:2, 6:4).

Iga Swiatek, who won the French pen Roland-Garros in 2020, was scheduled to play in the first round of the WTA 500 Sydney International versus the 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu.

“After intense pre-season and last week’s tournament in Adelaide I feel like my body needs more time to recover before the Australian Open”, said Iga Swiatek. “I’ve been feeling some pain in my lower rib area which is why unfortunately I’ve decided to withdraw from the tournament in Sydney. I really hope to play for you next year. See you in Melbourne!”, added she.

The tournament is preparatory for the Australian Open, which begins next week. It is still unclear how serious is the injury of Iga Swiatek and will she be fully recovered for the first Grand Slam tournament this year.