Iga Świątek started the 2022 season ranked 9th but the retirement of Ashleigh Barty and her incredible run of form has propelled her to the very top of the women’s game.
Swiatek went unbroken in three of her victories at the Hard Rock Stadium. Proving her merit on serve against Osaka, Petra Kvitova and Coco Gauff.
The 20-year-old Pole is the first woman to win the first three WTA 1000 events of a season. She won 73 of the 99 games she played in Miami.
Iga’s 17-match winning streak at WTA 1000 events is now the joint third-longest in history equalling Viktoria Azarenka’s streak between 2012 Tokyo and 2013 Madrid.
It has been 22 years since a woman lost fewer games than Swiatek to win the Miami Open. She is proving to be a big-match player having now won 13 of her 14 career finals in ITF and WTA competition.
Iga Świątek relishing her time as world no.1
Iga Świątek is the new name atop it’s rankings in Women’s tennis. She 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.
Ashleigh Barty departs the sport at the peak of her prowess. She resigns as the reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion. With Ash 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.
Ushering in a new era 💫
Your new world No.1, @iga_swiatek☝️#1GA pic.twitter.com/Ol8JdeN6uW
— wta (@WTA) April 4, 2022
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.
😱🌴Time to reflect on everything that happened during last few weeks.
😱🌴Pora na kilka zdań o ostatnich tygodniach.#MyWay pic.twitter.com/WnhfQWWvUD— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) April 8, 2022
The WTA released their updated ranking list on 6th April, 2022. The updated lost pushed Iga Świątek from world no.2 to number 1. After the release Iga shared her excitement through her social media. She said, “So, here we are… One day I’m just 100% focused on my performance during another match the next day I’m realising how to live as a number 1. It’s a lot to take in and I’m working through it day by day at my own pace.”
She added, “It will take some time but on the other hand I’m very excited. These last few weeks were… interesting, crazy and hard-core. But I’m happy that I was also able to have some quality time in Miami after the final. Now it’s time to get back to work.”