Iga Swiatek withdraws from grass-court event in Berlin after 'intense nine weeks'
Roland Garros finalist Jasmine Paolini has also withdrawn due to injury.
Both Roland Garros finalists, Iga Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini, have withdrawn from next week's grass-court WTA event in Berlin.
"Due to overall physical and mental fatigue after an intense nine weeks, unfortunately I do need to withdraw from the tournament in Berlin in order to rest and recover," world No. 1 Swiatek, who won 19 consecutive clay-court matches to win Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros, said in a statement released by the tournament on Wednesday.
The event begins Monday and is one of two WTA 500 grass-court tournaments scheduled in the short, three-week lead-up to Wimbledon, which begins on July 1.
A subsequent announcement by the WTA noted that Paolini has withdrawn due to an unspecified injury after playing 13 matches in Paris; in addition to finishing runner-up to Swiatek in her first Grand Slam singles final, the 28-year-old also reached the doubles final with fellow Italian Sara Errani, losing to Coco Gauff and Katerina Siniakova.
The accomplishment lifted her to career-high rankings in both disciplines this week, and a Top 10 debut in singles.
The Berlin tournament will nonetheless feature the remaining eight players ranked in this week's Top 10, including newly-minted world No. 2 Gauff.
After defeating Paolini 6-2, 6-1 to capture her third straight Roland Garros title, Swiatek spoke frankly about transitioning to grass courts, which have historically been her least fruitful surface.
Last year, the clay-court titan reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time, but she is just 9-4 all-time in four previous appearances at the All-England Club. She has never reached a tour-level final on grass, either.
"I had these ideas, like, doing preseason on grass so I can learn how to play there. Last year's result was pretty nice. I feel like every year it's easier for me to adapt to grass," Swiatek said. "So I think there is no need to do that. I just need to continue the work that I've been doing. It's been easier every year, especially with my coach who, with [Agnieszka] Radwanska, they had great results on grass and he kind of feels grass well, I think.
:But yeah, for sure it's a huge challenge. If I would lose here earlier, maybe I would be able to play two more weeks on grass and then be a better grass player, but if I would choose, I love playing on clay, so I'm not going to give up that ever."