Iga Swiatek withdraws from grass-court event in Berlin after 'intense nine weeks'

Both Roland Garros finalists, Iga Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini, have withdrawn from next week's grass-court WTA event in Berlin.

"Due to overall physical and mental fatigue after an intense nine weeks, unfortunately I do need to withdraw from the tournament in Berlin in order to rest and recover," world No. 1 Swiatek, who won 19 consecutive clay-court matches to win Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros, said in a statement released by the tournament on Wednesday.

The event begins Monday and is one of two WTA 500 grass-court tournaments scheduled in the short, three-week lead-up to Wimbledon, which begins on July 1.

A subsequent announcement by the WTA noted that Paolini has withdrawn due to an unspecified injury after playing 13 matches in Paris; in addition to finishing runner-up to Swiatek in her first Grand Slam singles final, the 28-year-old also reached the doubles final with fellow Italian Sara Errani, losing to Coco Gauff and Katerina Siniakova.

The accomplishment lifted her to career-high rankings in both disciplines this week, and a Top 10 debut in singles.

The Berlin tournament will nonetheless feature the remaining eight players ranked in this week's Top 10, including newly-minted world No. 2 Gauff.

After defeating Paolini 6-2, 6-1 to capture her third straight Roland Garros title, Swiatek spoke frankly about transitioning to grass courts, which have historically been her least fruitful surface.

Last year, the clay-court titan reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time, but she is just 9-4 all-time in four previous appearances at the All-England Club. She has never reached a tour-level final on grass, either.

"I had these ideas, like, doing preseason on grass so I can learn how to play there. Last year's result was pretty nice. I feel like every year it's easier for me to adapt to grass," Swiatek said. "So I think there is no need to do that. I just need to continue the work that I've been doing. It's been easier every year, especially with my coach who, with [Agnieszka] Radwanska, they had great results on grass and he kind of feels grass well, I think.

:But yeah, for sure it's a huge challenge. If I would lose here earlier, maybe I would be able to play two more weeks on grass and then be a better grass player, but if I would choose, I love playing on clay, so I'm not going to give up that ever."