WATCH: Iga Swiatek breaks down in tears after heartbreaking Paris Olympics SF loss ends World No. 1's quest for maiden gold medal

Four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek was overcome with emotion after a devastating 6-2, 7-5 loss to Zheng Qinwen of China in the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Thursday (August 1). This defeat marked the end of the World No. 1's pursuit of her first Olympic gold medal.

Swiatek was the top seed in the tournament and began her campaign on the clay courts of Roland Garros by cruising past Irina-Camelia Begu 6-2, 7-5 and Diane Parry 6-1, 6-1 in the first and second rounds, respectively.

The Pole then defeated Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-4 in the third round. She advanced to the semifinals after her quarterfinal opponent, eighth seed Danielle Collins, retired from their match during the deciding set, with the score reading 6-1, 2-6, 4-1 ret. in the Pole's favor.

In the semifinals, Swiatek, who boasts of a 38-2 career win-loss record at Roland Garros, suffered a shock defeat to sixth seed Zheng Qinwen in a match lasting one hour and 51 minutes.

Following the loss, Iga Swiatek was visibly emotional during an interview, shedding tears in front of the interviewer before walking away.

Watch the video here:

Iga Swiatek still has a chance to win an Olympic medal - a bronze

Iga Swiatek [Image Source: Getty Images]

Iga Swiatek is still in the running for an Olympic medal - a bronze - despite her loss in the semifinals to Zheng Qinwen at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Pole will compete in the bronze-medal match against either 13th seed Donna Vekic or Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

Vekic kicked off her Olympic Games campaign by defeating Italy's Lucia Bronzetti 6-2, 7-5 and Bianca Andreescu 6-3, 6-4 in the first and second rounds, respectively. She then went on to overcome second seed Coco Gauff 7-6(7), 6-2 in the third round and 12th seed Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(8) in the quarterfinals to set up a semifinal showdown against Schmiedlova.

Meanwhile, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova began her challenge by defeating Katie Boulter 6-4, 6-2 in the first round and 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-4, 6-4 in the second round. She then continued her impressive run by overcoming fourth seed Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in the third round and ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals to secure a spot in the last four.

Iga Swiatek has faced Donna Vekic four times on the WTA tour, winning them all. The World No. 1 is yet to compete against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on the tour.