Iga Swiatek will no longer be the World No.1 after the 2023 US Open after exiting in the Round of 16 against Jelena Ostapenko. This marks the end of her long reign atop the WTA singles ranking, lasting for an incredible 75 weeks. This was her first stint as No.1, putting her third on the list of longest week streaks for a first-time No.1 stay. The Pole is comfortably ahead of Serena Williams, only behind Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis.
Swiatek’s loss took her head-to-head with Ostapenko to 4-0 in favor of the latter. The 2022 US Open winner was defending 2000 points, entering the tournament 11 points behind long-time No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the live rankings. The Belarusian is now poised to take over as the leader of the pack.
Iga Swiatek bettered Serena Williams with first stint as No.1
Swiatek was a heavy favorite to defend her title but stumbled early. She won her first three matches without breaking a sweat but then ran into Ostapenko. The Latvian has been a banana peel for the four-time Grand Slam winner, winning all their match-ups so far.
Swiatek took the first set 6-3 and would have hoped to break Ostapenko’s streak against her. However, the #20 seed bounced to win the match 6-3, 3-6, 1-6 with some powerful serving and rallying. The Round of 16 loss meant Swiatek remained winless against Ostapenko and also will no longer be World No.1.
Iga Swiatek‘s first stint at the top of the WTA rankings lasted 75 weeks. She rose to the summit in April 2022 following Ashleigh Barty’s sudden retirement and stayed there since. This was the third-longest week streak as a first-time World No.1. Only Graf, with 186 weeks, and Hingis, with 80, are ahead of Swiatek in the illustrious list.
The 22-year-old sits ahead of Serena Williams as well, with the American recording a 57-week streak during her first spell as No.1. The top 5 is rounded out by another illustrious name, Martina Navratilova, with a 26-week run.
75 – Only Steffi Graf (186 weeks) and Martina Hingis (80) had a longer first time weeks-streak at the World No.1 than Iga Swiatek (75) since the WTA Rankings were introduced in 1975. Resounding.#USOpen #USOpen2023 | @usopen @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/aCRWpQzWdu
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) September 4, 2023
To be mentioned alongside such great names puts Swiatek in an elite category. The Polish star had an extremely fruitful run as World No.1. During this period, she won three Majors titles namely, 2022 and 2023 French Open and the 2022 US Open. Additionally, she won nine WTA titles and won 97 matches, more than any other player in the same time frame. If her first spell as No.1 is any indication, Swiatek is slated to achieve even greater things in tennis. She could well parallel, and maybe even exceed, the legendary names with her on the aforementioned list.
Aryna Sabalenka rises to No.1 after long struggle
After spending almost the entire year at No.2, Sabalenka can finally ascend to the top spot. She previously came close during Wimbledon after Swiatek’s quarter-final exit, needing just one win to upstage the Pole. Sabalenka would have been No.1 had she reached the final, but faltered in the semi-finals to continue at the same rank.
The top two entered the US Open neck-to-neck. Sabalenka was 1209 points behind Swiatek, who was defending 2000 points as the defending champion. The latter arrived at Flushing Meadows with a live ranking of World No. 2 and 7955 points to her name.
Sabalenka, defending 780 points after her semi-final finish last year, commenced her campaign as World No. 1 in the live rankings with 7966 points. This meant all the Belarusian had to do was match her rival’s performances. With Swiatek crashing out in RO16, Sabalenka is guaranteed the No.1 spot regardless of the outcome of her Round of 16 match against Daria Kasatkina.
