Iga Świątek is the youngest to do the “Sunshine Double” – winning both Indian Wells and Miami titles. She is only the 4th woman and 11th player to do the ‘Sunshine Double’.
Świątek also became the first woman to win the first three WTA 1000 tournaments of the season – Doha, Indian Wells and Miami. She is now on 17 match winning streak, nine of them coming in straight sets.
Iga didn’t face a break point against Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova. She also didn’t get broken versus Coco Gauff. In the six matches, she was broken just five times. And in all five instances, the Pole broke right back.
Iga Świątek on Rafael Nadal’s message
Women’s tennis has a new name atop its rankings. Iga Świątek has taken over Ashleigh Barty who has retired from the game. She becomes the first Polish player and the youngest player since Caroline Wozniacki to hold the position.
With Ash Barty vacating the spot as world no.1, Świątek became the 28th different woman to hold the no.1 ranking since the computerized system debuted in November 1975.
Iga’s rise in the rankings has been steady and constant. She ended 2016 ranked no.903, cracked the top 500 for the first time in 2018, ended 2020 ranked no.17, then gained no.9 at the end of last year.
After her defeat in the Australia Open semi-final match against Danielle Collins, Iga Świątek received a surprising message form Rafael Nadal.
The Pole was surprised and elated to get the message from the Spanish tennis legend. She said, “It surprised me because for sure he has a busy life. And he focused on himself. I don’t know how, like, players that are that great how they, I don’t know, live, if they share something.”
When asked about her relationship with the Spaniard, Iga replied, “I don’t know if it’s a friendship honestly. Because still like being able to talk to him, is an amazing experience for me. It’s a dream come true for sure.”
Świątek on Spanish tennis legend, Rafael Nadal
In a fun interview after her win in the Miami Open final, Iga got asked about who would like to take on a road trip. She said, “I would like to go on a road trip with Rafa. Bethanie Mattek Sands because she cooks great food. And my best friend Kaja Juvan.”
Iga also talked about her admiration and respect for Rafael Nadal. She said, “I watched a lot of tennis in the past two years and I’ve seen many comebacks and many times where Rafa. For example, wasn’t playing his best tennis but still he was finding solutions. The last match I can talk about was the Australian Open final, which was mind-blowing for me because I was honestly sitting in the stands and even I was like, Oh, I don’t think he’s going to come back, it’s kind of impossible.”
She added, “That’s a lesson for all of us that we got to keep pushing and keep fighting and keep wanting to get the solutions and getting better. I think these kinds of experiences and the huge inspiration that I get from players gave me a lot.”