"Concerned about Iga Swiatek's mental health"; "Hope Daria is already packed" - Fans react as Zheng Qinwen crushes Pole's gold medal hopes in Paris

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek's hopes of winning her first Olympic gold medal in Paris were dashed by Zheng Qinwen on Thursday, August 1. Tennis fans have since shared their reactions to the Pole's defeat.

Swiatek was the favorite to win the prestigious gold at this year's Games, given that the event is being played on the red clay of Roland-Garros, a surface where she excels, having won four Grand Slams there.

The Pole kicked off her campaign strong, defeating Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu, France's Diane Parry, China's Wang Xiyu, and the USA's Danielle Collins to advance to the semifinals, where she faced Zheng.

Swiatek broke Zheng on her first chance in the opening set but then began making several mistakes. The latter capitalized on that, winning six consecutive games to take the set, while the former, visibly frustrated, made 16 unforced errors. In the second set, the World No. 1 initially showed signs of recovery but couldn't keep up with that as the Chinese took advantage of her 20 unforced errors and ultimately secured the victory with a final score of 6-2, 7-5.

Fans have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to react to Iga Swiatek's loss, with many expressing concern about her mental health following her controversial quarterfinal match with Collins. One user wrote:

"Iga had 36!!! yes thirty-six!! unforced errors!! Iga’s mind wasn’t there, yes, Zheng played a good game but she didn’t win because of that, Zheng won because IGA LOST THE MATCH by simply not playing. I’m concerned about Iga’s mental health; she was totally absent.

Another pointed a finger at the five-time Grand Slam champion's sports psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, writing:

"I hope Daria is already packed bc there is absolutely no excuse for this. No. Excuse."

"Self-imposed Olympics pressure is a real thing in tennis. Iga wanted it too badly. The quest for gold will have to wait for the best women’s tennis player of this decade. Probably her worst sea level clay court match since 2021 RG, but congrats to Qinwen Zheng who deserved this," one account tweeted.

One user posted:

"Iga really needs someone in her team who can help her when she’s under pressure like this. A sports psychologist, perhaps."

"Lowkey time for Iga to take 6 months off and figure some s**t out Idk," another wrote.

"Losses hit way worse when you know you'll literally never have another chance like this to achieve something. Grand Slam might look huge, but are still played every year, at the same places. Iga just let a once in a lifetime chance go away. Pressure, indeed, got her, and badly," one account chipped in.

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Iga Swiatek has a chance to win bronze medal at Paris Olympics 2024

Iga Swiatek (Source: Getty)

While her quest for gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics is over, Iga Swiatek still has a shot at winning a medal, albeit a bronze. She will compete against the loser of the second semifinal between Croatia's Donna Vekic and Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova to do so.

The 23-year-old will undoubtedly give her all, as winning a medal at the Games has long been a dream for her, inspired by her father Tomasz's top 8 finish in Seoul in 1988.

"I always dreamed of the Olympics because of my father. I know it’s not the same for other tennis players, but for me, it’s really something special. I will fight for a medal," Swiatek told Olympics in 2020 after winning her maiden Grand Slam at the French Open.

The women’s singles bronze medal match will take place on Friday, August 2.