Three years ago I watched Iga Swiatek lose at Miami Open qualies to Sachia Vickery. Yesterday the 20 year old crushed Viktorja Golubic 62 60 to clinch the WTA No. 1 ranking and all the sponsor bonuses from Technifibre and Asics which surely accompany the monumental achievement.
Swiatek first captured my attention when I saw her qualify for her first Grand Slam main draw at Australian Open as a seventeen year old. After match point of the grand occasion, Swiatek responded as if it was the end of a practice match, pulled cap down, shook hands, picked up bag and departed court. I knew right then this girl expected a lot more of herself than to qualify for a Grand Slam.
By 2020 she won Roland Garros. And now she’s the ultimate female athlete in the world, No. 1 in the sport of tennis, the most difficult and challenging female sport on earth.
Swiatek’s sudden rise to the top ranking of course was aided by Ash Barty’s shock retirement earlier in the week.
“It’s pretty weird for it to be my goal for two days and it may actually happen that quick,” Swiatek said in Miami on Tuesday. “For sure it would be for me something special to be World No. 1. I never expected that, if it’s going to happen it’s going to happen that way.”
Swiatek is the 28th woman to reach the WTA top ranking. Since the WTA rankings were first introduced in 1975, there have been 184 major tournaments, with 52 different women winning titles. Iga is the youngest player to make her No.1 debut since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki (216 days younger) in 2010. Swiatek is also the first man or woman from Poland to earn the No.1 ranking.
Swiatek’s on court celebration of becoming world No. 1 included being presented with flowers by tournament director James Blake and Tennis Channel analyst and former world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport.
Ash Barty · Iga Swiatek · Miami Open · Poland · Technifibre
