As expected, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) elected Iga Świątek “Player of the Year” for the second time in a row. The Pole just finished her second consecutive season as world number 1 after an impressive WTA Finals performance where she did not lose a single set.

Iga’s 2022 season had already been one of many triumphs. She won 8 titles, including 2 Grand Slams. She also completed the longest winning streak of the WTA tour of the 21st century with 37 consecutive wins in the first half of the season.

Although her 2023 campaign was statistically less dominant than her 2022 season, Świątek still won six titles. She triumphed in Doha, Stuttgart, Paris (French Open), Warsaw, Beijing, and Cancún (WTP Finals). At only 22, Iga has already won 17 titles overall.

On Monday, the Varsovian started her 81st week as world number 1. Last summer, the Polish champion entered the top 10 of female players with the most weeks on the coveted first spot when she took over Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki (71 weeks).

But Świątek’s chase for records is far from over. She now targets the American Lindsay Davenport who was on top of the charts for 98 weeks, from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, with several breaks.

Despite her rather slim advance (245 points) over world number 2 Aryna Sabalenka, Świątek is already assured to stay number 1 at least until January. Besides, the Varsovian will likely remain on top even a few weeks longer than that as Sabalenka will have many points to defend at the Australian Open, which is scheduled in the second half of January and which the Belorussian won this year.

Image: X (@Eurosport)

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen