Iga Swiatek admitted she "just messed up" during her semi-final defeat to Qinwen Zheng at the Paris Olympics that ended her quest for a gold medal. 

Swiatek, who has won four of the last five French Open titles at Roland-Garros, was reduced to tears in her post-match interview following the loss. 

It ended the Pole's 1149-day unbeaten record on the clay courts in the French capital, having won 25 consecutive matches, along with a 47-4 completed sets record and claiming 10 sets by a score of 6-0 over that span. 

The world number one was the pre-tournament favourite to win gold in Paris, having been knocked out at the quarter-final stage in Tokyo three years ago. 

But a nightmare first set ended 6-2 in favour of Zheng, and when the Chinese broke Swiatek to draw level in the second after racing into a 4-0 lead, there seemed to be only one outcome. 

“I just had a hole in my backhand. It happens rarely because it is usually my most solid strike,” Swiatek told Kuwik.

“I was not technically well positioned because of the stress and the fact that I played my games day by day. We didn’t have time to adjust that and work on that.

“I know that’s not the justification but I tried to correct that during the match. Today it didn’t work at all. So she used that to win the game.”

When asked why she slumped from 4-0 to 4-4 and ultimately 5-7 in the second set, Swiatek added: “It's the result of the match. So I just messed up.”

Swiatek still has the opportunity to take home a bronze medal when she faces the loser of the second semi-final between Croatian Donna Vekic and Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia.

Coco Gauff's Olympic singles campaign ended in tears as the teenager lost in straight sets to Donna Vekic.

Gauff, the world number two, was one of the favourites to claim singles gold in Paris, but will instead have to try her luck in the doubles after crashing out in the third round.

The American lost 7-6 (9-7) 6-2 on Tuesday in a contest in which she clashed with chair umpire Jaume Campistol towards the end of the match.

A Vekic return had been called out by a line judge, with Gauff having not kept the ball in play, but Campistol believed the shot had landed in and handed the Croatian the point and a 4-2 lead.

Play was subsequently delayed as an emotional Gauff approached the umpire, saying: "I never argue these calls. But he called it out before I hit the ball. 

"It's not even a perception; it's the rules. I always have to advocate for myself.

"It always happens here at [Roland-Garros] to me. Every time. This is like the fourth, fifth time it's happened this year."

Gauff felt she was on the harsh end of a decision in the semi-finals of the French Open earlier this year, in a defeat to Iga Swiatek.

Data Debrief: Vekic a worthy winner

Despite Gauff's complaints, she was not at her best, and Vekic deserved the victory.

Vekic struck 28 winners in total to Gauff's nine, as she claimed the first top-10 scalp of her career on clay.

It is the second time in the space of two Olympic Games that Vekic has ousted a top-three player, having defeated Aryna Sabalenka in Tokyo.

Donna Vekic revealed she was in "so much pain" in her record-breaking Wimbledon semi-final defeat to Jasmine Paolini, explaining her tears in the third set of a marathon match.

Vekic let slip a first-set lead to lose 2-6 6-4 7-6 (10-8) on Centre Court and miss out on a major final debut.

It appeared emotions had got the better of the first-time semi-finalist as victory slipped away despite a further early break in the decider, eventually losing after two hours and 51 minutes.

This was the longest women's singles semi in Wimbledon history, and Vekic insisted her tears were provoked by the punishment her body took in the epic encounter.

"I thought I was going to die in the third set," Vekic said in her post-match news conference. "I had so much pain in my arm, in my leg.

"It was not easy out there, but I will recover.

"I was more crying because I had so much pain, I didn't know how I could keep playing. My team tells me I can be proud of myself.

"It's tough right now. It's really tough to be positive right now. It was so close." 

Paolini will now play Barbora Krejcikova in Saturday's final, her second grand slam title match after losing to perennial French Open champion Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros in June.

"Two grand slam finals in a row was crazy to believe, I think, no?" Paolini said. "I'm also surprised how at the moment, until now in this moment, I'm living this.

"I feel maybe Saturday I will be so nervous, I don't know, but I feel also relaxed. I'm the same person. I'm doing the same things. I'm surprised a little bit how I'm managing this.

"I don't want to say more, because maybe Saturday I'm going to be shaking. I'm surprising myself to live this with with really relaxing mood."

Naomi Osaka bowed out of the Berlin Open after falling short in a three-set thriller against an inspired serving display from Zheng Qinwen.

The former world number one battled, but ultimately came up short for the second time in two weeks, enduring a 6-4 3-6 6-3 defeat. 

The Japanese found herself a set down following a break point claimed in the fifth game by her opponent but rallied in the second to take the encounter to a deciding set. 

However, Zheng, who served 10 aces in the final set, proved too powerful for Osaka to secure a second victory over the Japanese after two hours and 10 minutes at the Steffi Graf Stadium.

Zheng will play Katerina Siniakova in the last 16 on Wednesday, with either Jessica Pegula or Donna Vekic awaiting should she progress. 

Data Debrief: Acing it

The victory for Zheng saw her serve 23 aces against Osaka, the highest tally in a single WTA match since Rebecca Marino vs Caroline Garcia in Guadalajara in 2022 (24).

Her success with her serving saw Zheng win 88 per cent of her first serve points, winning 44 of 50 during the match.