PARIS—Iga Swiatek lost to Zheng Qinwen of China 6–2, 7–5 in the Paris Olympics semifinals Thursday, a surprising setback for the No. 1-ranked woman and champion at the French Open four of the past five years.
The result was hard to predict for several reasons. Swiatek entered the day with a 6–0 edge in their head-to-head matchups. She has led the WTA rankings for nearly every week since April 2022, while Zheng is No. 7. Plus, just when Swiatek appeared to be getting back into the match with a 4–0 lead in the second set, she faltered.
