Iga Swiatek calls out doubles partner after jetting to US Open 12 hours before match

Iga Swiatek called out Casper Ruud after they booked their spot in Wednesday night's US Open mixed doubles semi-final. The world No. 2 was in doubt to compete in the revamped tournament, winning her Cincinnati Open final the night before she was due to take to the court in Flushing Meadows.

Swiatek didn't want to give up on Ruud, however. She jetted straight to New York, landing around 12 hours before she stepped onto Arthur Ashe Stadium for her opening match in the mixed doubles. And they're now through to the semi-finals after two good wins.

The six-time Major winner and the ATP No. 12 have complimented one another on the court. After facing off in a tight mixed doubles match at the United Cup earlier this year, Swiatek and Ruud gained an understanding of each other's game styles, and it's showing on the court.

They beat all-American duo Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe 4-1 4-2 in the shorter, fast-four scoring format in their opening match on Tuesday. Moments later, they returned to face Caty McNally and Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals, winning by the same scoreline.

While they work well together on the court, Swiatek and Ruud couldn't agree on the origins of their doubles partnership.

Asked who reached out first, 2022 US Open runner-up Ruud said: "I had in mind that maybe if Iga wanted to play, I'd be down, and then she actually shot me a text and asked if I wanted to play."

But Swiatek quickly shut him down. "What? You texted [me]," she replied, cutting Ruud off. The Norwegian stood his ground, and the world No. 2 continued: "That's not possible because when your agent asked my agent, or you asked me, I had no idea what I'm signing up for.

"I was like, 'Yeah, okay, I want to play with Casper'. But I didn't know what the tournament is going to even look like, so it must have been you."

Ruud continued making jokes after they left the court. "So glad you texted me," he commented on Swiatek's Instagram post, adding a winking emoji.

The 26-year-old may be comfortable enough to jibe with Swiatek now, but he was genuinely concerned that their partnership could be off after she reached the final in Cincinnati, where she beat Jasmine Paolini to claim the trophy.

After reaching the mixed doubles semi-finals, Ruud said: "I can't lie, I was a little concerned! We both prepared each other if we were to do well in Cincinnati, that something might happen. We said that early when we planned."

The No. 3 seeds will now face Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula in Wednesday night's semi-final. The winning team will play the final almost immediately after, and there's a £740k ($1million) prize up for grabs.

While Swiatek was able to handle the quick turnaround from Cincinnati, men's singles champion Carlos Alcaraz couldn't say the same. The world No. 2 claimed the title in Ohio when Jannik Sinner retired 23 minutes into their final on Monday night.

He shared a private jet to New York with Swiatek and took to the court shortly after Swiatek and Ruud won their quarter-final. But Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu lost to Draper and Pegula in 51 minutes.

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