My whole career flashed before my eyes” – Iga Swiatek lays bare… .

Iga Swiatek clinched Poland’s first tennis medal at the games after beating Anna Karolina Schmiedlove in the bronze medal match 6-2, 6-1 on Friday. The World No. 1 entered the tournament as a strong favorite for the gold but was happy with her finishing among the podium places in Paris.

The 23-year-old reflected on coming into the bronze medal match after missing out on the coveted Olympic gold following her loss to Qinwen Zheng in the semi-finals.

Swiatek also spoke about the importance of winning an Olympic medal and standing on the podium at the Olympics.

Iga Swiatek has had a phenomenal run on clay, which made her the overwhelming favorite for the gold medal in Paris. The 23-year-old entered her semi-final match against Zheng with a strong head-to-head record of 6-0. However, Zheng stormed past Swiatek 6-2, 7-5 to register her first win against the World No.1.

Swiatek called this defeat ”one of the hardest defeats” in her career after finding solace in the bronze medal match: