"Playing next day after the most heartbreaking loss of your career" - Fans 'proud' of Iga Swiatek as Pole grabs historic bronze at Paris Olympics

Iga Swiatek won the bronze medal in the women's singles event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She faced a heartbreaking loss against China's Zheng Qinwen in the semifinal but bounced back to defeat Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the bronze medal playoff. Fans then expressed pride over Swiatek's historic achievement.

The Pole was a favorite to win gold at the Paris Olympics, producing sensational performances on clay this season. Swiatek won the Madrid Open, the Italian Open, and the Roland Garros titles in 2024. Moreover, the Games are being played at Court Philippe-Chatrier, where Swiatek had not lost in three years.

She came into the Paris Olympics with a 21-match winning streak at the Roland Garros. The streak extended to 25 before Zheng put up an extraordinary display to get the better of the World No. 1 in the semifinal on Thursday, August 1. Swiatek was emotional after the loss.

However, she regrouped after the result to face Schmiedlova in the bronze medal match on Friday, August 2. The three-time French Open champion was at her clinical best, winning 6-1, 6-2 in 59 minutes. Swiatek's bronze made history, as it was Poland's first Olympic medal in tennis.

Fans took to X to express their delight at the result:

"Huge congratulations 1GA. I’m super proud of you and you should be too. You’ve achieved something not many do...," one fan wrote.

"Congrats Iga for the bronze medal for your country. It may not be what you wanted, all the same be grateful as you have not come out empty-handed. Cherish it...," wrote another.

"I guess right now it doesn't feel like a big deal, but hope Iga gets to value that medal later on... Crucial to leave with a win here. Great regrouping and resilience to quickly bounce back... Olympic medalist, not many can say that, the color doesn't matter," a third fan posted.

Here are some more fan reactions to Iga Swiatek's triumph.

"I’m so damn proud of Iga that I can’t stop tweeting... Playing a match the next day after arguably the most heartbreaking loss of your career must be incredibly tough... And she prevailed anyway... True champion," one fan wrote.

"Good job, Iga!" a fan wrote.

"Iga well deserved 🔥🔥🔥" another commented.

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Iga Swiatek went through "a lot of mixed emotions" after winning a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics

Iga Swiatek at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 (Image via Getty).

After the conclusion of the bronze medal match, Iga Swiatek sat down on her bench to take in the achievement. During her post-match interview, she was asked what she went through in that moment.

“I don’t know honestly.. a lot of mixed emotions. I’d love to play the final tomorrow," Iga Swiatek said.

"But just getting up here today and really enjoying playing and being able to do everything professionally and playing such tennis that I could really kind of have peace in my mind gave me a lot. I’m happy I could do it and finish this tournament on a positive note,” she added.

The gold medal match will be played between China's Zheng Qinwen and Croatia's Donna Vekic on Saturday, August 3.