As expected, Iga Świątek triumphed at the Warsaw Open to win the 15th title of her career. The Pole gave a tennis lesson to Laura Siegemund in the final with an impressive 6-0, 6-1.
A few weeks ago, Iga Świątek came close to losing her throne as world number 1. Aryna Sabalenka was 5 points away from making it to the top of the charts. It would have been enough for Sabalenka to reach the final in Wimbledon – no matter the outcome – given Świątek’s elimination in the quarter-finals. But the Belarussian eventually lost to Ons Jabeur who fought back and completed a remarkable comeback.
Last week, the young Pole was playing in her home city of Warsaw to the delight of her Polish fans. Despite several changes in the schedule, which led competitors to play more than one match per day, Iga managed to cruise all the way until the finish line.
This new title allows the Varsovian to slightly increase her advance towards Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA ranking. As it stands, the Pole is 645 points ahead of the Belarussian, which remains à rather slim advantage. On 31 July, Iga started her 70th consecutive week as world number 1 and counting. By the second half of August, she is already mathematically assured of taking over Caroline Wozniacki’s 71 weeks on the throne.
https://twitter.com/iga_swiatek/status/1685678950146580480?s=20
In other words, Świątek will soon become one of the ten female tennis players with the longest streak as world number 1 ever – at only 22 years of age! In September, the Polish star will have a lot of points to defend at Flushing Meadows after winning the US Open last year.
Can Iga finish the year as world number 1 once again? We will have the answer to this question in the upcoming months. Until then, sincere congratulations to our white and red champion and let’s hope for the best for New York!
Image: Twitter (@iga_swiatek
Author: Sébastien Meuwissen