'You inspire so many', Ruud's heartfelt message to Swiatek after painful defeat

Painful losses can leave even the most accomplished tennis stars feeling alone, no matter how much they have achieved.

Casper Ruud is making sure Iga Swiatek does not bear that weight following her Mutua Madrid Open semi-final, which she lost to Coco Gauff in a surprising 6-1, 6-1 routing.

The defending champion Swiatek was visibly emotional in the second set, covering her head with a towel as she broke down in tears during a changeover at 6-1, 3-0.

The Norwegian quoted a video of the raw moment on X and posted a heartfelt message: "Hey @iga_swiatek keep your head up🙏🙏," he wrote. "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!!😊🤩👏🎾"

Ruud, No. 12 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, will compete in a semi-final match of his own Friday, when he faces 20th seed Francisco Cerundolo. The Argentine leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 5-3. Ruud holds a 19-6 season record, according to the Infosys ATP Win-Loss Index, and has not dropped a set this fortnight.