Current Ranking: 2
W/L: 63-11
Titles: 5 (Qatar, Stuttgart, Roland Garros, Warsaw, Beijing)
Grand Slam Record: 17-3
WTA Finals Appearance: 3
Best Result: SF (2022)
“You don’t get up in the morning to be average.”
That’s Iga Swiatek’s motto. Spending much of the year ranked No. 1, collecting a fourth career Grand Slam trophy, and a tour-leading five tournament titles certainly qualifies as above average. Inking a lucrative endorsement deal with On to become the running giant’s face of its tennis business isn’t too shabby either.
But expectations being what they are, it could seem like an average year for Swiatek. Aside from the Roland Garros title, a quarterfinal showing at Wimbledon was her next best result in a major. Her fourth-round loss at the US Open (to Jelena Ostapenko) pushed her off the No. 1 ranking after 75 weeks—10th on the all-time list—as she failed to defend her title.
The introspective 22 year-old admitted that the pressure to continue her reign was exhausting and adversely affected her tennis. Swiatek’s mentality is to always search for ways to extract her best, such as practicing with tape over her mouth to improve her endurance. After the disappointment in New York, she took time off to work on technique and rediscover greater consistency and confidence in her game. The break eventually paid off in China earlier this month, where she dropped just one set on route to the title.
The win puts finishing the year back at No. 1 in play in Cancun.
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