Swiatek withdraws from Bad Homburg Open with fever and possible food poisoning

BAD HOMBURG, Germany (AP) — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek withdrew from the Bad Homburg Open on Friday with a fever and possible food poisoning, three days before the start of Wimbledon.

Swiatek was scheduled to play in her first career grass-court semifinal match on Friday against Lucia Bronzetti, who gets a walkover to Saturday's final.

“I’m so sorry but I have to pull out of my match today. I had a restless night because of some fever and possible food poisoning,” Swiatek said in a statement on Instagram. “I’m not able to perform today and I need to take care of myself. I hope I’ll be fine soon. Your support in Bad Homburg was amazing, thank you. It was a pleasure to play here. And I hope I will be back.”

Swiatek, the French Open and U.S. Open champion, had been upbeat this week about adapting to play on grass, historically the surface which had brought her the least success. Following her French Open victory, Swiatek was on a 10-match win streak after beating Anna Blinkova in the Bad Homburg quarterfinals on Thursday.

Swiatek has been drawn against Zhu Lin in the first round of Wimbledon.

Bronzetti will play Katerina Siniakova in the final after Siniakova won two matches in one day.

Siniakova completed a 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 win over second-seeded Liudmila Samsonova in a quarterfinal match which resumed Friday after it was suspended Thursday following the second set because of fading light.

The Czech player was back on court soon after to earn a 6-2, 6-2 win over American player Emma Navarro in just over an hour.

Siniakova is the top-ranked women's doubles player and has a 3-4 record in career singles finals, including a loss to Angelique Kerber in the 2021 Bad Homburg final. Bronzetti is 1-1 with her first career win coming in May in Morocco. It will be the first match between the two.

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