2022 Champ Iga Swiatek Out of Miami Open with Rib Injury

Iga Swiatek of Poland talks to the media after withdrawing from the tournament through injury during the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 22, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Iga Swiatek of Poland talks to the media after withdrawing from the tournament through injury during the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 22, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
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2022 Champ Iga Swiatek Out of Miami Open with Rib Injury

Iga Swiatek of Poland talks to the media after withdrawing from the tournament through injury during the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 22, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Iga Swiatek of Poland talks to the media after withdrawing from the tournament through injury during the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 22, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)

Defending champion Iga Swiatek pulled out of the Miami Open on Wednesday because of a rib injury.

The No. 1-ranked Swiatek was supposed to face Claire Liu in the second round on Thursday.

As a seeded player, three-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek received a first-round bye in the hard-court tournament that she won a year ago during a 37-match unbeaten run that was the longest in women's tennis in a quarter of a century.

Swiatek, a 21-year-old from Poland, said after a 6-2, 6-2 loss to eventual champion Elena Rybakina in the BNP Paribas Open semifinals Friday that her rib was bothering her.

“I still have to run some tests and see what’s going on. I don’t know yet,” Swiatek said Friday.

Instead of playing Swiatek, Liu will go up against 94th-ranked Julia Grabher, who lost in qualifying but now gets to move into the draw.

Liu advanced Tuesday when her first-round opponent, Katerina Siniakova, stopped playing in the second set because of a hurt wrist.



Monfils Beats Fritz to Reach Australian Open's 4th Round at Age 38

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 18, 2025 France's Gael Monfils celebrates winning his third round match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 18, 2025 France's Gael Monfils celebrates winning his third round match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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Monfils Beats Fritz to Reach Australian Open's 4th Round at Age 38

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 18, 2025 France's Gael Monfils celebrates winning his third round match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 18, 2025 France's Gael Monfils celebrates winning his third round match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Gael Monfils joined Roger Federer as the only man to reach the Australian Open's fourth round at age 38 or older since the tournament field expanded to 128 players in 1988, coming back to beat No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 6-4 on Saturday, The Associated Press reported.
After punctuating his victory with a 134 mph (215 kph) ace — his 24th of the afternoon, doubling Fritz's total — Monfils did a celebratory dance at the baseline while thousands of fans at Margaret Court Arena roared, many waving red-white-and-blue French flags.
He started his season with a title at a hard-court event in Auckland, New Zealand, which made him the oldest man to win a tournament since at least 1990.
“Just fortunate. But every day is different. We work hard. I try to be very disciplined with the recovery. I am a strong believer (in) myself. Strong belief I can do some damage,” said Monfils, who has never been past the quarterfinals at the Australian Open but did reach two major semifinals, most recently at the 2016 US Open. “With a little luck, here we are in the second week of the Australian Open.”
Federer was a slightly older 38 when he got to the semifinals at Melbourne Park in 2020, which turned out to be his last appearance at the tournament.
Monfils next will take on a much-younger opponent, either No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy or No. 21 Ben Shelton of the United States, who are both 22.
Playing his usual brand of charismatic, entertaining tennis in front of a loud crowd Saturday, Monfils compiled an impressive ratio of 58 winners to 34 unforced errors and dropped just one service game. And while Monfils won 11 of the 15 points he finished at the net, Fritz only went 16-for-30 when he pushed forward.
“I've done the job,” Monfils said.
The 27-year-old Fritz, the runner-up to Jannik Sinner at the US Open in September, became the highest-seeded man to exit the bracket at Melbourne Park this year. Fritz's right foot was treated by a trainer during the match.
The result ended a 12-match losing streak for Monfils against top-five players at Grand Slam tournaments.
Monfils' wife, Elina Svitolina, was scheduled to play in the same stadium on Saturday night — and also against a fourth-seeded foe, two-time Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini.
“I warmed up the court for her,” Monfils said.