Iga Swiatek was forced to retire in her third round match at the 2026 Madrid Open, but what impact has the Pole’s early exit had on the WTA Rankings?
The six-time Grand Slam winner retired due to a virus when trailing 6-7(4), 6-2, 0-3 against world No 34 Ann Li in Manolo Santana Stadium on Saturday.
Swiatek took a medical timeout and had her vitals checked by the tournament doctor before she took the decision to retire. The former world No 1 left the court in tears.
“I’ve been feeling awful for the last two days. I think I have some kind of virus. Some hours I’ve been fine, but other times I’ve been feeling really bad,” Swiatek said.
“I’ve heard there’s something going around in the locker room, a virus that’s out there somewhere. I know I’ll be fine in a couple of days, but today I felt like I had zero energy, zero stability.”
Swiatek started the Madrid Open as the world No 4 on 7,273 points, with world No 3 Coco Gauff just six points ahead.
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The 24-year-old has collected 65 points for reaching the third round in Madrid, but she was defending 390 points as she reached the semi-finals at last year’s event. She has, therefore, dropped 325 points, which leaves her on 6,948 points in the Live WTA Rankings.
Swiatek is up to third position in the live rankings, with Coco Gauff — who is defending 650 points for her 2025 Madrid runner-up result — dropping to fourth.
Gauff is 199 points behind Swiatek on 6,749 points, but she has the chance to regain the No 3 spot before the rankings update following the Madrid Open.
If Gauff reaches the semi-finals in Madrid, she will take her points total to 7,019 and move back above Swiatek.
Swiatek began the Madrid Open 1,137 points clear of world No 5 Jessica Pegula, who was on 6,136 points. The gap has reduced to 812 points before Pegula’s third round match against Kostyuk in Madrid.
Pegula needs to win the Madrid Open to overtake Swiatek as securing the WTA 1000 title would lift the American’s points total to 7,071.
The post How Iga Swiatek’s Madrid Open exit affects WTA Rankings as Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula benefit appeared first on Tennis365.
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