Stunning upset: Zheng ends Swiatek's reign, advances to Olympic final

In a shocking Olympic semifinal match, Qinwen Zheng, ranked No. 6, defeated the No. 1 seed, Iga Swiatek, 6-2, 7-5, dethroning the queen of Roland Garros. This victory offers China its first opportunity to secure a gold medal in tennis on Saturday.

Despite being a four-time French Open champion, Swiatek hasn't lost a match at Roland Garros since the 2021 quarterfinals and was a favourite to win gold for Poland. Now, she will only have a chance to compete for the bronze medal.

Zheng will face either Donna Vekic from Croatia or Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova from Slovakia for the gold medal.

Swiatek, known for her dominance at Roland Garros over the past five years, faced unexpected challenges in the Olympics. Competing on her preferred surface, where she has clinched four French Open titles since 2020, Swiatek was defeated by Zheng Qinwen in the semifinals, despite being the heavy favourite for gold.

Zheng, ranked No. 7 in the WTA, entered the match as an underdog, with a 0-6 record against Swiatek. Facing an opponent who had won the French Open just two months prior with a 32-2 overall record in Paris, Zheng's victory was unexpected. The 21-year-old even overcame a match point against American Anna Navarro to advance to the quarterfinals.

The match started with Swiatek breaking Zheng's serve, but Zheng quickly capitalised on Swiatek's uncharacteristic mistakes, winning six consecutive games to take the first set as Swiatek committed 16 unforced errors.

Although Swiatek regrouped and took the first four games of the second set, Zheng broke her serve three times, benefiting from 20 more unforced errors by Swiatek. When Swiatek's return fell long on match point, Zheng celebrated her historic victory by collapsing onto the court.