On Monday, 12 December, Iga Świątek was awarded Player of the Year for the first time by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). 

https://twitter.com/iga_swiatek/status/1602584334325751809?s=20&t=-VrrxSB4CPwT9Ft3F72y8A

The Polish champion has had a truly sensational 2022 season. She secured her place as world number 1 back in April when Ashleigh Barty surprisingly retired from professional tennis and decided to cancel her accumulated WTA points. This allowed Iga (number 2 at the time) to take the leadership of the WTA classification.

The throne of world number 1 is safeguarded by the Pole, who gathered 11,085 points, cruising far ahead of the Tunisian Ons Jabeur in the ranking (5,055). In other words, there’s virtually no chance to see anyone else than Iga on top of the ranking anytime soon.

In January, Iga Świątek will take over the French Amelie Mauresmo and become the 13th female tennis player with the most weeks spent as world number 1 in the history of the game, all this while being only 21!

The young Varsovian also completed the WTA’s longest winning streak of the 21st century, with 37 consecutive wins in the first half of the season.

https://twitter.com/WTA/status/1602335690397814784?s=20&t=qoDAxJCu8xDOmF4SZCtMPA

In Grand Slam, she reached the semis in the Australian Open for the first time before claiming her second crown at the French Open. She also raised her first trophy at Flushing Meadows (US Open). 

„I felt like everything clicked this season […] I wasn’t expecting to be that consistent,” – Świątek told AP back in spring. 

Although being only 21, the Polish star has already written a remarkable page in the history of her sport. If she avoids injuries, she seems fit to continue dominating the tennis world in the upcoming years. Let it be so! 

https://twitter.com/iga_swiatek/status/1598008283759267841?s=20&t=-kgiL4vvmP5IpVnGy0yFdw

Image: Twitter @JJlovesTennis

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen