“Keep your head up”: Casper Ruud's classy response to Swiatek in tears

Iga Swiatek suffered another disappointment this season, falling to Coco Gauff in the semifinals of the Madrid Open. The 5-time Grand Slam champion seemed the favorite in the match against the American, especially on clay courts, but Gauff avenged a negative head-to-head record (3-11) and swept past the Pole 6-1, 6-1.

Swiatek is not having an easy time on the Tour at the moment, and her emotions surfaced after the resounding defeat to Gauff, winning just two games. The 4-time Roland Garros champion was crying on the court, covering her face with a towel, in images that went widely viral on social media. And one of those who responded was Casper Ruud.

Not even the clay courts have allowed Swiatek to return to a WTA final, and she suffered another defeat this season. The world No. 2 has had remarkable numbers for any player, although still without reaching finals, which is certainly far from her own standards. She has a 26-8 record for the year but has consistently fallen in the final stages of tournaments.

In 7 tournaments played this year, Swiatek has fallen in the semifinals four times and in the quarterfinals three times. Two weeks ago, she was defeated in Stuttgart by Jelena Ostapenko, the player against whom she has her worst rivalry record at 0-6. This week in Madrid, Swiatek was the defending champion and it seemed like a great chance to win a title again. However, she crashed against Gauff, giving the American her third consecutive victory against Swiatek, slowly closing the head-to-head to 4-11.

Ruud offered a gesture of support by sending words of encouragement to the former No. 1 after another painful defeat. The Norwegian knows about disappointments in the final stages of tournaments. He has had three losses in Grand Slam finals and two losses in Masters 1000 finals, in addition to the 2022 ATP Finals final, where he again fell just short of the title. He has also fallen in the semifinals of Masters 1000 events six other times and has not yet won a title in this category.

“Hey @iga_swiatek keep your head up🙏🙏,” posted the 3-time Grand Slam runner-up. “Like millions of other people I love watching you play. Not your day today, but you inspire so many and you’ll be back stronger than ever!!😊🤩👏🎾”