Iga Swiatek will have to wait four more years to try and win an Olympic gold medal after the Polish top seed was shocked by China's Zheng Qinwen in the semi-finals at Roland Garros on Thursday -- her first loss there since 2021.
Swiatek, the overwhelming favourite for gold after a third successive French Open title this year confirmed her as the Queen of Clay, was outplayed 6-2 7-5 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
In snapping Swiatek's 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros, Australian Open runner-up Zheng became the first Chinese player to reach the singles final at an Olympic tournament.
The country's previous best singles result at the Olympics was Li Na finishing fourth at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Zheng, who did not even have to bring her A-game against a badly off-key Swiatek, will face either Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova or Croatia's Donna Vekic for the gold medal. Swiatek will have to console herself with a match for a bronze medal.
"I'm so happy that I could make history for Chinese tennis because I always wanted to be one of the athletes who can get a medal for China, for our country," 21-year-old Zheng said.
"Right now I'm one of them, but I know the fight is not over it's not the end."
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