Ann Li, the No 31 seed, reached the last 16 of the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday when Iga Swiatek, the No 4 seed, retired at 7-6 (4), 2-6, 0-3 down — the Pole leaving the court in tears in what was one of the most distressing scenes of her difficult season.
Swiatek, ranked No 4, had called for the doctor at 0-2 in the third set, visibly struggling throughout the match. The medical check confirmed she was unwell. Her vital signs were examined courtside before she ultimately made the decision to stop. It was a match she had fought through rather than played, the illness draining a level that has already been inconsistent in 2026, and the combination proved too much.
“I hope to be good in a couple of days, but it’s definitely disappointing” she said after the match, confirming her illness.
The retirement was merely the latest chapter in a season that has tested Swiatek in ways few could have anticipated. She lost to Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open quarter-finals, fell to Maria Sakkari in Doha and Elina Svitolina at Indian Wells, then suffered a first-round defeat to compatriot Magda Linette in Miami – ending a 73-match opening-round winning streak, a WTA record.
Swiatek’s loss, the biggest surprise in Madrid so far
She parted ways with coach Wim Fissette after 18 months together. She arrived in Madrid, her favourite surface, with the clay swing held up as the moment she would rediscover herself. She left in tears, ranked No 4 and more than 3,000 points behind world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Li, ranked No 34, had been sharp and composed throughout, winning the opening set before dropping the second. She had no say in how the match ended but earned her place in the round of 16 having beaten Alycia Parks in the previous round. She faces Canadian Leylah Fernandez, the No 24 seed, next.
Fernandez produced one of the day’s more compelling comebacks. The Canadian, ranked No 25, lost the first set to American Iva Jovic, the No 15 seed, before winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, earning back-to-back breaks at the start of the third to put the match beyond doubt. Fernandez arrives having reached the Stuttgart quarter-finals last week and is finding form at the right moment on clay.
Swiatek’s retirement is the biggest upset of the women’s draw so far, surpassing the early exit of No 7 seed Elina Svitolina, who was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by Hungarian Anna Bondar, ranked No 63, in the second round on Thursday.