Iga Swiatek, 20-year-old Polish women’s tennis star, rose to the top of the Women’s Tennis Association’s (WTA) world rankings after the shock retirement of Former World No.1 Ashleigh (Ash) Barty.
Having previously won the WTA1000 events in Qatar and Indian Wells in February and March, respectively, she outshone all her fellow WTA players. These wins helped her reach the No. 1 rank, but they have also evidently established her as the current best player on the WTA tour.
On Saturday, Iga won the Miami Open, another WTA1000 event, which ranks 1st in the hierarchy of WTA tournaments and 2nd overall, with Grand Slams, organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) reigning supreme. It was a proud day for Poland, with compatriot and defending single’s champion Hubert Hurkacz winning the Men’s Doubles event only hours later.
Having consecutively won both Indian Wells and Miami Open, Swiatek became the youngest and only the fourth woman in history to complete the “Sunshine Double”, an accomplishment only previously achieved by Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka.
Iga’s successive WTA1000 wins at Qatar, Indian Wells, and Miami make her the only woman to match Serena Williams’ triumph in 3 WTA1000 events “back-to-back-to-back”. Moreover, The victories have led her to a career-best 17-0 winning streak, which only adds to her motivation. Iga has surpassed her record of winning only two tournaments in one season; In 2022, her dream run continues – she has already won 3 tournaments in only the first week of the year’s fourth month.
Apart from winning many tournaments, the 20-year-old Polish is one of the youngest WTA World No. 1s, having unlocked the achievement at the same age as when Serena Williams first did.
However, Swiatek’s work doesn’t stop here. Having reached the “Pole Position”, Iga strives only to improve further. After winning the Miami Open, she said, “My body feels great, so, for me, I want to see where my limit is. For sure, there is a lot to improve.” She seeks to continue her dream season in the remainder of 2022, and with her current performance, future success is sure to follow!
