Iga Swiatek made up for her stinging defeat in the Paris Olympics semifinals by winning the bronze medal, thanks to a clear victory in the third-fourth place match against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. The Pole won with a score of 6-2, 6-1, becoming the fourth player to win a medal as world number 1 since the official WTA ranking was introduced.
Her rival Aryna Sabalenka has meanwhile returned to the court at the WTA 500 in Washington after missing Wimbledon due to a shoulder problem. After the complicated match against Kamilla Rakhimova – she appeared very nervous and often spoke to her team – the Belarusian player won the derby with Victoria Azarenka with a double 6-4, visibly raising her level. Sabalenka is now just one step away from the final at the Mubadala Citi DC Open and she will challenge American Marie Bouzkova in the semifinal of the event.
Sabalenka has decided not to participate in the Paris Olympic Games but, in the press conference, she answered honestly to a question about the defeat suffered by Iga Swiatek in the semifinal against Qinwen Zheng (the Chinese player then won the gold medal a few hours ago – ed.).
“I don’t…
