Iga Swiatek has been forced to withdraw from the Miami Open due to a rib injury. The world's number one revealed today, that she is unable to take the title defence challenge on Hard Rock Stadium, while being injured since winning the WTA 500 tournament in Doha a few weeks ago. Swiatek was expected to play American Claire Liu in the second round on Thursday. Her spot will be replaced by the qualies lucky loser - Julia Grabher.
"You know that in and after Doha I was struggling with a strong infection. I was allowed to play, but a strong episode of tough cough led to a rib injury. We were trying to handle it and continue to play as long as it was safe for me. We were analyzing the data in the last days and my doctor prepared my diagnosis. Unfortunately, I am still feeling a lot of discomfort and pain and I can't compete. I gave it all but Elena was a better player in our semifinal's match in Indian Wells. Unfortunately I am feeling discomfort and pain in my ribs and it was challenging for me to compete at my highest level. Now, I just need to consult with my medical team and I will definitely use these next days to recover." - revealed Swiatek during the press conference in Hard Rock Stadium.
"I will keep you updated about where I play next, because it depends on my process of recovering and the recommendation of my medical team. I have the best team behind me, we only need some time to deal with the injury. It is a truly difficult call to not play in Miami and BJKC, but health is the most important. I am kind of aware if something hurts, it is usually going to be a problem in the future. That is why I wanted to check it out as fast as possible. That is why I am kind of taking a much more safe approach to that. Because of it, I need to pull out. I was also aware at the beginning of the season that it is going to be hard for me to defend all these points because it's not, like, these streaks, winning all these tournaments is like, looking logically and statistically, it is not like it is going to happen every year." - continued the world's ranking leader.
