Indian Wells: Iga Swiatek progresses into semi-finals after Caroline Wozniacki retires with foot injury

Iga Swiatek booked her place in the Indian Wells semi-finals after opponent Caroline Wozniacki was forced to retire with a foot injury at the start of the second set.

The world No. 1 had claimed the first set 6-4 and was leading 1-0 in the second when Wozniacki was unable to continue.

Swiatek had to dig deep in the opening set as she found herself 4-1 down but produced a battling comeback and won the next five games in a row.

Before the start of the second set, Wozniacki took a medical timeout to get some treatment on her foot and she was only able to continue on for the opening game before retiring from the match.

It was an unfortunate ending in just the second encounter between both players – Swiatek defeated Wozniacki in three sets in their first meeting in Canada in 2019.

Swiatek becomes just the fourth player to make the Indian Wells semis for three years in a row after Lindsay Davenport, Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova.

“I’m hoping that Caroline will be better and she’ll be ready for Miami,” Swiatek said. “It’s not the best way to win.

“But I’m happy that I played well enough in first set to win it. For sure it was tight. At the beginning we had many longer rallies, so I felt like I needed to be solid and be ready. At the end I’m happy that I used the chances in the last games.”

The Polish star will now face Marta Kostyuk in Friday’s semi-finals after she defeated Anastasia Potapova 6-0 7-5.

The victory sees Kostyuk book her place in the last four of a WTA 1000 for the first time in her young career.

“I practiced with [Swiatek] in Doha, I was really looking forward to actually playing her in the match,” Kostyuk said. “I think it will be a great match.

“I don’t know what else to say, because I’m excited, and I played her in Paris three years ago, and it was a bit different match. We were both in different positions. Even more exciting now.”

Swiatek came out victorious from her only previous meeting against Kostyuk at the 2021 French Open.