Jasmine Paolini, runner-up at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, wins Olympic gold in women's doubles; Sara Errani completes Golden Slam

Iga Swiatek secured her spot on the podium at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games, knocking out Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 6-2, 6-1 to win the bronze medal in Paris.

The world No. 1 was barely 24 hours removed from a heartbreaking semifinal defeat against Zheng Qinwen, one that left Swiatek reduced to tears in a mixed zone interview. But Swiatek recovered in emphatic fashion in her return to court on Friday, sweeping aside the surprise medal contender to become the first Pole to medal in Olympic women's singles after 60 minutes flat on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

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Fresh off a fourth Roland Garros victory, Swiatek had been the odds-on favorite to win gold at an Olympics played on her favorite court. After winning her first three matches without losing a set, she navigated a tricky quarterfinal against American rival Danielle Collins only to find herself out of contention for the top of the podium against Zheng, a player she’d never lost to in six previous meetings.

Given the rare opportunity in tennis to play another match after a loss, Swiatek took full advantage of the second life she’d been given and reeled off five straight games from an early break deficit against Schmiedlova, a former world No. 26 dogged by inconsistency over the last decade.

The 29-year-old from Slovakia has tended to play her best tennis on clay, winning two of her three WTA titles on the slower surface and showed signs of a return to form when she captured a WTA 125K title at the Emilia-Romagna Open in May.

Swiatek shook off a disappointing semifinal defeat to Zheng Qinwen to secure her first Olympic medal.

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But Paris proved an entirely different story for Schmiedlova, who played incredible tennis to score back-to-back upsets over 2024 Wimbledon finalists Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova to reach the biggest semifinal of her career. It was there that she fell in straight sets to a surging Donna Vekic.

Still in contention for a surprise medal, Schmiedlova enjoyed a strong start against an out-of-sorts Swiatek, who struck 36 unforced errors in her loss to Zheng. But the Pole quickly found her form and won 10 of the next 11 games to put herself a game away from the bronze.

Serving for her first Olympic medal, Swiatek surged to a pair of match points in just under an hour, converting her first to end her maiden Olympics on a high.

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