Sunday, April 03, 2022

Inside the numbers: The Swiatek Sweep

Iga Swiatek solidified her impending rise to the World No.1 ranking after completing a "Swiatek Sweep" at the Miami Open on Saturday. The 20-year-old Polish star defeated former No.1 Naomi Osaka, 6-4, 6-0 to win the sixth title of her career and capped off a sweep of the first three WTA 1000 titles of the season, having also won the Qatar Total Energies Open and BNP Paribas Open.


"At the end I felt relief," Swiatek told reporters. "I was surprised that I could actually handle all these matches. I had many doubts during this tournament. It's pretty crazy for me."

WTA Insider breaks down the incredible numbers behind Swiatek's unprecedented feat.


Sweeping the Sunshine Double


4: Women to win the Sunshine Double, with Swiatek now joining Stefanie Graf, Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka.

0: Players younger than 20-year-old Swiatek to win the Sunshine Double.

11: Years since a player younger than Swiatek has won four WTA 1000 titles. Swiatek is the second-youngest player, older only than Caroline Wozniacki, who clinched her first at 2011 Dubai).




The Swiatek Streak

29: The average rank of Swiatek's opponents during her winning streak.

1: Players who have swept the first three WTA 1000 tournaments to start a season. Swiatek stands alone.

2013:
The last time a player won three or more consecutive WTA 1000 tournaments in a single season. Only three players have ever done it. Along with Swiatek, only Serena Williams in 2013 (four consecutive titles in Miami, Madrid, Rome and Toronto) and Caroline Wozniacki in 2010 (Montreal, Tokyo and Beijing).

4: Players to win 17 or more consecutive matches at WTA 1000 tournaments. Swiatek now joins Caroline Wozniacki (28, between 2010 Montréal and 2011 Miami), Victoria Azarenka (17, between 2012 Tokyo and 2013 Madrid) and Serena Williams (26, between 2013 Miami and 2013 Cincinnati).

2015: The last time a player won 17 or more consecutive matches on hard courts in a single season. Serena Williams won 20 straight between the 2015 Australian Open and Toronto.

23: Consecutive matches won by Naomi Osaka 2020 Cincinnati to 2021 Miami. Osaka is the last player to win 17 or more consecutive matches.



Miami Dominance

2
: Main draw appearances for Swiatek in Miami. She made her tournament debut last year.

22: Years since a woman lost fewer games than Swiatek to win Miami. Swiatek lost 26 over this fortnight. In 2000, Martina Hingis lost only 21.

3:
Bagel sets Swiatek dished out en route to the title in Miami.

4: Bagel sets Swiatek has dished out in her past four finals.

5:
Games. That's the most Swiatek has lost in any of her five Slam or WTA 1000 finals.

20:
Games conceded by Swiatek in her last five finals, an average of four games per match.

3:
Matches in which Swiatek was unbroken in Miami (vs. Gauff, Kvitova, Osaka).

2:
Matches in which Swiatek did not face a break point in Miami (vs. Kvitova, Osaka).

5: Times Osaka was broken heading into the Miami final. Swiatek broke her four times.

74: Percentage of games won by Swiatek in Miami. She won 73 of the 99 games she played.

57:
Percentage of return games won by Swiatek in Miami. She played 49 return games and broke in 28 of them.

3: Number of seeds Swiatek defeated en route to the Miami title - No.14 Coco Gauff, No.16 Jessica Pegula, No.28 Petra Kvitova.

1: Final lost by Swiatek across the ITF and WTA level. She has won 13 of her 14 career finals. The only exception came in her first WTA final, where she lost to Polona Hercog in three sets at 2019 Lugano. She is now 6-1 in WTA finals.

10: Years since Agnieszka Radwanska became Miami's first Polish WTA champion. Swiatek is the second.


The Rivalry: Swiatek vs. Osaka


1: Win apiece for Swiatek and Osaka in their budding rivalry. Both matches were won in straight sets, with Osaka prevailing at 2019 Toronto and Swiatek winning in Miami.

2: The ranking both Swiatek and Osaka held when they defeated the other. Osaka was World No.2 at 2019 Toronto; Swiatek No.2 in Miami. At the time, the loser in each match was ranked outside the Top 60.

31: WTA 1000 appearances for Osaka. She has now made the final four times, winning twice: 2018 Indian Wells, 2019 Beijing.

14: WTA 1000 appearances for Swiatek. She has won all four finals: 2021 Rome, 2022 Doha, 2022 Indian Wells, 2022 Miami.

36: Osaka's ranking after Miami. She came into the tournament under threat of dropping out of the Top 100.

11: Wins for Osaka to start the 2022 season, posting an 11-3 record.


 



Swiatek's Sensational Spring

3: Titles Swiatek has won in 2022, the most on tour. She has already eclipsed her personal mark for most titles in a single season, having won two last year.

26: Wins for Swiatek to start the 2022 season, posting a 26-3 record as the tour turns to clay.

16: Wins for Paula Badosa and Maria Sakkari, who sit at No.2 behind Swiatek for tour wins in 2022.

4: Top 10 wins for Swiatek in 2022, already eclipsing her personal mark for most Top 10 wins in a season. She is 4-1 against the Top 10, with her sole loss coming to Ashleigh Barty in the Adelaide semifinals. She is 6-1 against the Top 20.

2019: Year that Swiatek made her Top 100 debut, moving to No.88 after making her first WTA final in Lugano.

2020:
Year that Swiatek won WTA Newcomer of the Year and WTA Fan Favorite.

9: Swiatek's ranking at the end of the 2021 season, having made her Top 10 debut earlier in the season in May.

1: Swiatek's ranking on Monday, when she will make history as the first Polish player to sit atop the WTA or ATP rankings.

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