"Physical and mental fatigue" - Iga Swiatek withdraws from Berlin Open 2024 following "intense" claycourt swing ft. 4th French Open title win

Fans will have to wait a little longer to see Iga Swiatek back on a tennis court. The Pole has announced her withdrawal from the upcoming Berlin Open, just days after her triumphant run at the French Open.

Swiatek was all set to kick off her grass swing of the 2024 WTA Tour in Berlin, which begins on June 17. She was about to make her debut at the WTA 500 tournament as the top seed. However, she withdrew due to fatigue after a few busy weeks on tour.

In a statement published by the Berlin Open, Iga Swiatek expressed her regret over pulling out of the tournament and cited "physical and mental fatigue" as the reason behind her decision.

The World No. 1 noted that the "intense" action over the past nine weeks has taken its toll on her body, and she hopes to recover physically before playing another tournament.

"Due to overall physical and mental fatigue after an intense 9 weeks, unfortunately I do need to withdraw from the tournament in Berlin in order to rest and recover," Swiatek's statement read.

Swiatek was busy during the clay swing of the 2024 WTA Tour, playing four tournaments over 40 days. This included the week-long Stuttgart Open, where she reached the semifinals, the 10-day WTA 1000 Madrid Open and the Italian Open, and the two-week French Open. She was the champion at the last three tournaments.

With her withdrawal from the Berlin Open, Iga Swiatek is likely to directly play the Wimbledon Championships, as she has not signed up for any other grass court tournaments. Two WTA 500 events in Bad Homburg and Eastbourne are scheduled to be played a week before SW19, but the Pole is not on their entry lists at the moment.

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Iga Swiatek had her best grass swing showing in 2023

Iga Swiatek

The grass swing is the only part of the WTA Tour where Iga Swiatek has not tasted any success. During the 2023 WTA Tour, Swiatek had some of her best performances on the grass court with deep runs at multiple tournaments. She began her grass swing last year at the WTA 250 Bad Homburg Open and reached her maiden grass semifinals.

She survived former Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria in the first round and dispatched Jil Teichmann and Anna Blinkova before withdrawing from her semifinal match against Lucia Bronzetti. Swiatek carried this form forward into the Wimbledon Championships.

In London, the 23-year-old swept aside Zhu Lin, Sara Sorribes Tormo, and Petra Martic in her initial contests. She was given a tough time by Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, but somehow survived. However, the Pole could not come out on top against a resurgent Elina Svitolina and bowed out in the quarterfinals.