World No.2 Iga Swiatek cruised past World No.8 Emma Navarro to progress to the semifinal at the Australian Open for the second time.
Iga Swiatek, Emma Navarro (Images via Screengrab/X)
Iga Swiatek got embroiled in controversy at the Australian Open. On Wednesday (January 22), she was playing the quarterfinals against Emma Navarro inside the Rod Laver Arena when a ball that had bounced twice awarded Swiatek a point.
The incident happened when the players were locked at 2-2 in the second set. During a rally, a shot from 8th seed Navarro bounced once and Swiatek ran quickly from behind the baseline to return it. The second seed was successful in her task and clinched the point. But the ball, without a doubt, had bounced once again before the 23-year-old Pole returned it.
Watch the video here:
Swiatek’s winner awarded her the point to the dismay of the World No.8 who asked the chair umpire about it. But she couldn’t ask for a review as she already played the point.
The Pole ace eventually won the set and the match with scores of 6-1, 6-2 to knock out the American who had made it to the last eight at Melbourne Park for the first time. Swiatek, on the other hand, has reached the Australian Open semifinal for the second time.
It was their second meeting on the WTA Tour after their first encounter in the 2018 Charleston Open, which Swiatek had won in straight sets.
Fans on social media censured Iga Swiatek for not refusing the controversial point. They called her a cheater, linking this incident to the doping scandal, and claimed Swiatek had deliberately used contaminated melatonin to dope.
Check out their reactions here:
Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion, has never reached the summit clash of the Melbourne Slam and played the semifinal just once, in 2022. She was knocked out of the fourth round by Elena Rybakina in 2023 and by Linda Noskova in the third round in 2024.
Her semifinal opponent is Madison Keys, who fended off Elina Svitolina in three sets in the previous round. The World No.2 has met Keys five times and leads 4-1 in their head-to-head meeting.
The semifinal match on Thursday will be their first meeting Down Under. If Swiatek emerges as the winner, she could face World No.1 and the two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final. The Belarusian overcame Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to schedule a semifinal clash with Paula Badosa.
