Iga Swiatek has been a revelation in women’s tennis ever since she won her first Grand Slam title at the Roland Garros back in 2020. She continued to rise through the ranks following that and finally reached the top in April of 2022, becoming the top most ranked women’s singles player. That hardly comes as a surprise given how consistent the Pole has been and now she has matched a Serena Williams record as the top ranked player.
Ever since Serena retired, or rather from before her retirement too, fans have been desperate to see someone of the American’s caliber who will entertain them in the years to come. While many have been labeled the next Serena Williams, most of them have either disappointed are still trying to reach their potential. But Iga Swiatek is built different and may just have what it takes to do justice to the comparison.
Iga Swiatek matches Serena Williams
Iga Swiatek took over the World No. 1 spot in April, 2022 and has since made it her own. For a while, her rank was under threat from Aryan Sabalenka but that never came to pass, allowing the Pole to continue her dominance. Swiatek has now played 100 WTA matches as the top ranked player. This in itself puts her in an esteemed group of players.
Only 8 players in the WTA have played 100 matches as the top ranked player. Swiatek can now boast of being one of Steffi Graff, Monica Seles, Martina Navratilova, Martina Hingis, Justine Henin-Hardene, Chris Evert and Serena Williams. And as the top ranked player who has played a 100 WTA matches, Swiatek has won 87 while losing 13 matches, a record that is exactly similar to Williams. In fact, the Pole can boast about playing a 100 matches consecutively as the top ranked player, something even Williams hadn’t done.
87 – Iga Swiatek is 87-13 after her first 100 matches as the #1 in the world – the exact same record of the last player able to reach the mark of 100 WTA matches as #1, Serena Williams. Duo.#BNPParibasWarsawOpen | @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/46hIeeS1TW
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) July 30, 2023
The French Open champion is currently playing in her home country of Poland where she has made it to the final having beaten Yanina Wickmayer in the semi final. She’ll face Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the final.
Another milestone for Iga
Swiatek achieved another milestone in her career during the ongoing Warsaw Open. By defeating Linda Noskova in the quarterfinal, Iga notched up a 100 wins on hard courts. With her reaching the final she ahs made it 101 and she’ll be looking to adding one more win which will also get her the Warsaw Open title.
At just 22 years of age, Iga Swiatek is showing an amazing level of consistency. This is something that is often missing in the WTA as many would complain about. But we could be in for a very promising era for women’s tennis, especially with the likes of Iga Swiatek, Aryan Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina showing a lot of potential to consistently play well and compete for the biggest titles.
