What a week for Polish tennis fans! Weather conditions were not easy in Cancun, to say the least. But this did not prevent the world’s best tennis player from displaying an absolute masterclass in the last big tournament of the season.

Iga Świątek did not lose a single set in Mexico. In her first match, she disposed of the Czech Marketa Vondrousova (7-6;6-0), before outplaying the young American Coco Gauff (6-0;7-5). She validated her ticket for the semi-final by giving a tennis lesson to Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur (6-1;6-2).

The long-awaited semi-final opposing her to her main rival on tour –  Belorussia’s Aryna Sabalenka – was interrupted early on due to the extreme weather conditions at 2-1 in the first set. 

When the match restarted, the Varsovian took control of the situation and won this important game with authority (6-3;6-2). This win allowed Iga to play her first-ever final at the WTA Finals. Her opponent was the American Jessica Pegula.

The young Varsovian was on a mission. In the first set, the Pole broke early on and imposed her pace without leaving any chance to Pegula (6-1). Swiątek was on fire. She broke immediately in the second set and put extra pressure on the American, who simply had no reply to the Pole’s genius. The double break arrived quickly and Iga was on the highway to the throne. The Polish fans were on their feet and cheering!

Then, the unavoidable happened. “1GA” secured her way back to the throne with a classic Świątek bagel (6-0). It is worth underlying that Świątek did seal this obliteration in less than one hour. 

In other words, the Polish champion dominated the world’s best players as if she was playing exhibition matches. She also made Justine Henin’s record of the least games lost at the WTA Finals (34) with only 20 games lost in the five games she played. Insane! 

This win was not only Iga’s 68th of the season (a personal record) but also her 11th win in a row. The Pole has been truly impressive in the last weeks. She is not only about to take back the throne of world number 1 from Aryna Sabalenka, but she also secured her place on top of the charts, at least until January. 

Świątek is the 10th player with the most weeks as world number 1 (75 so far) in the history of her sport. She achieved this remarkable result at only 22. 

Image: X @JJlovesTennis

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen