Swiatek coasts through Wuhan debut while heat wilts players

FE Team | Published: October 07, 2025 22:27:44

Poland's Iga Swiatek hits a return to Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova during their women's singles match at the Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province on Tuesday- AFP

WUHAN, China, Oct 07 (AFP): World number two Iga Swiatek enjoyed a victorious debut at the Wuhan Open on a scorching Tuesday that saw Emma Raducanu and Jelena Ostapenko both retire from their matches.
Swiatek, who had an opening-round bye, eased past the Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova 6-1, 6-1 to book a third-round clash with Belinda Bencic or Elise Mertens.
After her win, Swiatek called on organisers to take player safety into account when scheduling matches on the outside courts, where there is no roof that can be closed to control the temperature.
"I feel like it's getting hotter in different places over the years," she said. "I'm just trying to use my experience, recover well between the points, and just spend all my energy on having the best quality possible. But for sure it's a challenge."