Iga Swiatek makes back to back semis in Madrid from a set down

No.1 seed Iga Swiatek came from a set down to book her place in her second straight Mutua Madrid Open semifinal, defeating No.11 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 in 2 hours and 29 minutes.

Back at Toronto 2022, Swiatek lost her first career encounter with Haddad Maia in the third round. She has now won three straight matches over the Brazilian, having also trumphed in last year's Roland Garros semifinals and at this year's United Cup.

The Pole advances to her fifth semifinal of 2024 so far, and the 15th of her career at WTA 1000 level. She will face either No.8 seed and 2022 champion Ons Jabeur or No.18 seed Madison Keys.

Swiatek's second-set scoreline also tied her with Coco Gauff for the most number of 6-0 sets won in 2024 to date. Both have notched seven such sets, two ahead of third-placed Aryna Sabalenka with five.

How the match was won: Though Swiatek took an early 4-1 lead in the first set, the World No.1 was far from her best in a scrappy opening passage of play. She had squandered triple break point in the second game thanks to cheap backhand misfires, and had needed to save break point in two of her own service games.

Haddad Maia had also started slowly, conceding her serve in the fourth game with a double fault. However, once her big forehand strikes began finding the court, she was able to take advantage of Swiatek's vulnerability on serve to reel off five straight games for the set.

After committing 13 unforced errors to only eight winners in the opener, Swiatek responded in style. Raising her intensity in every department, she rattled through a run of eight games in a row, smothering Haddad Maia with both offense and defense. Swiatek lowered her error count to five in the second set, during which she did not face a break point and dropped only 12 points in total. By contrast, Haddad Maia found only one winner against 14 unforced errors.

Swiatek took her momentum deep into the third set, building a quick 4-1 lead. With her back to the wall, Haddad Maia was able to land a few more accurate blows, and Swiatek had to work harder to close out the win. She was up to the task, unleashing a pair of heavy forehands to seal victory.

In Swiatek's words: "I needed to for sure stick to the tactics, because in the first set I started making too many mistakes. I started playing too fast.

"I just needed to really get back to basics and what I wanted to play today. It took me a while, longer than usual, but I'm glad that it happened after the set anyway."

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I woke up early to check the scores of this one and as usual my blood pressure went up after seeing the first set result. 

But instead of falling back asleep I decided to follow it to see how it would go. Guess I just had a good feeling and thankfully Iga proved me right. 

The way she turned this match around was something else, she's such a great front runner and has such an amazing match win record after taking the first set, but it's a little less impressive when she loses it. 

Today she showed her champions mentality once again and just dug in. The remaining sets score line may look easy but she had to work for almost every point with some outstanding rallies. 

It's actually quite fun to see Iga dig herself out of trouble when her back is against the wall like this. It forces her to play even better and show what she's really made of. 

Next up will be a bit of a surprise in Madison Keys who was losing 6/0 2/0 before turning it around in 3 against Ons Jabeur who to be honest kind of let this match go. 

It's really too bad because she was finally making some real progress this season here in Madrid. 

At least she has a lot of positives to take away from this tournament.  

Hard to say what to expect from Keys, because she's one of those players who's so hot and cold with her serve and game. 

But as long as Iga stays calm and sticks to her gameplan all the way through I think we'll be good. 

It also gives me hope that the only time Madison beat Iga was on the quick hardcourts of Cincy a few years ago.

I think as long as Iga plays her game and keeps her moving it should be a match played on her terms (even with Madison's serve). 

Jazda Iga we believe in you!.

Favourite stats:

Back to back Madrid SF 

30-4 in 2024 

8-1 on clay in 2024


Iga Swiatek is 63-0 in matches where she has won at least a set by 6-0.


10 - Claiming the second set 6-0 against Beatriz Haddad Maia, Iga Swiatek has become the second player to achieve 10+ 6-0 sets at WTA-1000 events on clay, along with Simona Halep (17) - completed matches. Fightback.


25 - Defeating Beatriz Haddad Maia in Madrid, Iga Swiatek has now equalled Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova (29) for the fewest matches taken to achieve 25 WTA-1000 wins on clay, since the format’s introduction in 2009. Gritty.


15 - Iga Swiatek has reached a 15th WTA-1000 semi-final since the start of the 2020 season. Swiatek is the only player with 10+ WTA-1000 SFs over that span, with Aryna Sabalenka and Maria Sakkari the next-best (eight each). Benchmark.

Iga Swiatek makes back to back quarterfinals in Madrid

No.1 seed Iga Swiatek stormed into her second Mutua Madrid Open quarterfinal with a 6-1, 6-0 defeat of Sara Sorribes Tormo, the last home player remaining in the draw. The Pole won the last 12 games of the match, and dropped just five points in the second set.

A runner-up last year to Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek is bidding for a first title at the only clay-court tournament at WTA 1000 level or above that she has yet to win. The Pole improved to 4-0 overall against Sorribes Tormo in their first meeting on clay, and advances to her fifth quarterfinal of 2024.

Swiatek will next face No.11 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, who also preserved an unbeaten record to reach her second quarterfinal of the season. The 27-year-old is now 4-0 overall against Maria Sakkari after defeating the No.5 seed 6-4, 6-4, her 11th career Top 10 win and second of 2024.

Here are the key takeaways from Swiatek's dominant win.

Swiatek's match management is second to none: As her run of 12 games and resultant one-sided scoreline suggest, Swiatek was rarely troubled on the scoreboard. But she still had to adjust to different challenges as the match progressed.

In previous rounds, Sorribes Tormo had proved a real problem for two former Top 3 players, ousting Elina Svitolina and Victoria Azarenka through indefatigable defense and shotmaking on the run. Swiatek made an impatient start, dropping serve in the opening game thanks to a double fault and three cheap forehand errors. But she was quick not to let that set the tone. Instead, she brought in her margins and used her raw pace to elicit rare errors from the Sorribes Tormo racquet.

The last two games of the first set were the tightest, and featured the best points of the contest as Sorribes Tormo successfully extended rallies and brought her lobs and drop shots into play. Swiatek was unrattled, winning her share of long exchanges and demonstrating the point construction she needed to stay a step ahead of the World No.55.

Thereafter, Swiatek rolled, flashing her forehand and slamming home drive volleys to sweep through the second set.

Swiatek has the opportunity to take control of another head-to-head: Back in 2022, Swiatek lost her first career meeting with Haddad Maia in the Toronto third round, a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 heartbreaker that the Brazilian used as a springboard to reach her first WTA 1000 final.

Swiatek got her revenge in last year's Roland Garros semifinals, but had to battle hard for it, saving one set point in the second set before scraping through 6-2, 7-6(7). But their third meeting in this year's United Cup was rather more straightforward: a 6-2, 6-2 rout for Swiatek.

Haddad Maia's first quarter of the season did not live up to her usual standards. Coming into Madrid, her record was a negative one with 10 wins to 11 losses. But three quality wins this fortnight over Sara Errani, Emma Navarro and Sakkari indicate that Haddad Maia has belatedly found her groove on clay.

"The biggest thing I remember is it was really tight in the first set," said Swiatek of their Roland Garris tilt. "The tiebreak was stressful. I remember the crowd also being crazy, because Brazilian crowd is taking all these instruments with them and making small music festival on the audience. So it was for sure different experience, a good one but tough to handle. It was a really intense match. I wouldn't expect an easy match against Bia, for sure."

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Iga Swiatek eases into the last 16 in Madrid

MADRID -- World No.1 Iga Swiatek advanced to the Round of 16 at the Mutua Madrid Open after defeating Romania's Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 6-1 on Saturday. The victory improved Swiatek's season record to 26-4.

Since 2000, Swiatek (87%, 67-10) holds the highest winning percentage of any player on clay at Hologic WTA Tour events. Only four other players have a win rate over 80% over that span: Justine Henin, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Lindsay Davenport.

With her win over No.30 Cirstea, Swiatek has now won her last 16 matches on clay against opponents ranked outside the WTA’s Top 20. At WTA 1000 events, she has not lost on clay to a player ranked outside the Top 20 since 2020.

Swiatek will face No.55 Sara Sorribes Tormo on Monday for a spot in the quarterfinals. The Spaniard advanced to the fourth round with a physical effort to defeat two-time finalist Victoria Azarenka 7-6(0), 6-3 in a 2-hour and 50-minute duel. Sorribes has enjoyed a resurgent week in Madrid, also notching straight-set wins over Bernarda Pera and Elina Svitolina.

Swiatek holds a 3-0 record against Sorribes Tormo. Their last meeting came at the United Cup in January, where Swiatek won 6-2, 6-1.

With the roof closed over Manolo Santana Stadium, Swiatek's precision game was in full flow as she improved to a perfect 4-0 over Cirstea.

"We still weren't sure actually before the match if the roof was going to be opened or closed," Swiatek said. "They only told us, like, 15 minutes before, and at that point they were sure, but before they were kind of looking for how the forecast looks like.

"I was ready for both scenarios, but for sure it felt a little bit like Roland Garros 2020 because of the weather today, and I knew that I can play well in these conditions."

A two-time quarterfinalist in Madrid, Cirstea found herself under relentless pressure in her service games. Swiatek generated a total of 14 break points in the match, breaking Cirstea's serve five times. In contrast, Cirstea saw just two chances to break Swiatek's serve, converting one break point in the match.

Already a champion at two of the four WTA 1000 events of the season, Swiatek is bidding to win her first Madrid title over the next fortnight. It is the only European clay tournament at the WTA 500 level or above that she has yet to win.

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This was definitely the most comfortable Iga has looked in Madrid and the best match she has played on clay in general this year. 

Used her athleticism to the fullest. 

It was great to see. 

She will definitely need that against Sorribes Tormo who loves being marathon woman especially on clay. 

Hopefully Iga won't let herself be drawn into too many extended moonball rallies.

Jazda!.

Iga Swiatek off and running in Madrid

 

MADRID -- World No.1 Iga Swiatek opened her quest for a first Mutua Madrid Open with a clinical display against No.52 Wang Xiyu, easing through a 6-1, 6-4 victory in the second round.

Swiatek will face 27th seed Sorana Cirstea in the third round Saturday.

Madrid remains the only big European clay title that Swiatek has yet to win, let alone win multiple times. The 22-year-old is already a three-time champion at Roland Garros and a two-time champion at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia and Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Of those clay events at the WTA 500 level or above, Madrid is also the one she's played the fewest.

This will be only her third run at the Madrid title. Swiatek made her tournament debut in 2021 and skipped the event during her 37-match, six-title win streak in 2022. Last year she came within a set of completing her clay-court collection, losing 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

"I love this place," she said. "I got to know the city a little better last year. So this time I feel more comfortable around."

With Lindsay Vonn keeping a close eye from the lower box seats, Swiatek inaugurated her 100th week at World No.1 with a comfortable baseline display. Wang booked her first meeting against Swiatek by saving match points to defeat Ana Bogdan in the first round on Tuesday.

Swiatek won 10 of the first 12 games to build a 6-1, 4-1 lead before Wang leveled the set to 4-4. But there was no sense of worry for Swiatek. She sealed the 76-minute win by breaking Wang for a fifth time to close the match.

"In the second set, I'm not happy with these two games where my intensity got a little bit down, but overall I knew what I had to do. I'm happy that I came back on the nice track and I finished with a nice score."

The unique challenges in Madrid are not a surprise to anyone. The majority of top players are coming from playing on indoor clay in Stuttgart. Madrid is played at a high altitude, meaning the balls can be tougher to control. The weather has been unseasonably cool in Europe this year, which adds an additional variable. Scheduling has also been a challenge, with players being slotted unpredictably across day and night sessions.

"Obviously [winning Madrid would mean] a lot," Swiatek said. "Winning any tournament like that, a big one, is a big thing. It's not something you get used to. You always want to fight for it."

But Swiatek dismissed the suggestion that completing her set of clay-court steak knives was weighing on her mind in Madrid.

"I don't think that way," Swiatek said. "Basically, I don't think about winning at the beginning anyway.

"Obviously every tournament has different atmosphere and is special in its own way. But on the other hand, it's a WTA 1000, and it doesn't really matter at the end which one I'm going to win. Every big tournament I win is going to give me confidence no matter where it is or what it looks like.

"So I don't really mind. I'm going to try to win every tournament I play at and that's all."

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The Swiatek era: Reflecting on 100 weeks atop the WTA rankings

 

Iga Swiatek was in bed at her Miami apartment when she received the staggering news: Ashleigh Barty, the world’s best player for the past three years, was retiring at the age of 25.

“They said it may be possible that I’m going to be World No.1,” Swiatek told reporters a little over two years ago. “It would be for me something special. I never expected that if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen that way.”

Abdicating the throne, Barty asked to be removed immediately from the rankings with a lead over Swiatek of more than 2,200 ranking points. And so, the 20-year-old from Poland was one match-win away from becoming the No.1 player.

“I was crying for a long time,” Swiatek said. “I mean, there was lot of confusion in me, for sure.”

Since then, Swiatek has been anything but confused. On Monday, she’ll reach 100 weeks as the Hologic WTA Tour’s top player.

A ‘pretty good group’

A century --100 years -- is a long, long time. The Internet is less than 50 years old and look how it’s transformed our lives. In the compressed world of professional tennis, where careers can be measured in a single decade, 100 weeks is a long time, too.

“No kidding,” said 18-time Grand Slam singles champion Martina Navratilova. “How many people have done that?”

This is the 50th year the WTA Tour has compiled rankings and only nine women have held the No.1 ranking for 100 weeks or more.

Savor these Hall of Fame names: Steffi Graf, (377), Martina Navratilova (332), Serena Williams (319), Chris Evert (260), Martina Hingis (209), Monica Seles (178), Ashleigh Barty (121) and Justine Henin (117).

And now Swiatek is one of them.

“It means you are not a flash in the pan, but consistent, focused, and hungry to maintain a high standard for a long period of time,” Evert said. “It means you don’t look back and settle for some high moments but are determined and committed to be in the present and work even harder.”

Swiatek, at 22 years and 326 days, is the fifth youngest player to reach 100 weeks as World No.1. She has already won four Grand Slam singles titles and will be favored to win a fifth at Roland Garros in June.

Four months of flawless tennis

Swiatek was ranked No.9 at the start of the 2022 season. And while she had broken through with her first major singles title in the fall of 2020 at Roland Garros, otherwise there was scant evidence of the spectacular success that was to unfold.

Her first loss of the year, perhaps appropriately, came against Barty in the semifinals of Adelaide. Later, Swiatek would say that playing Barty, with all her slice-and-dice diversity -- and developing the defense to combat it -- made her a more complete player. She lost in the semifinals in Melbourne (to Danielle Collins) and in her second Dubai match to Jelena Ostapenko.

Swiatek wouldn’t lose again for 136 days.

The run started in Doha, where she won the title, defeating three Top 10 players at the end -- Aryna Sabalenka, Maria Sakkari and Anett Kontaveit. Swiatek was the winner in Indian Wells (over Sakkari in the final) and rose to the No.2 ranking. This, she said, was the first time she first contemplated the possibility of the No.1 ranking. The rare Sunshine Double was accomplished in Miami with wins over Coco Gauff, Petra Kvitova, Jessica Pegula and Naomi Osaka.

After winning both of her Billie Jean King cup matches against Romania, Swiatek kept it going in Stuttgart by taking her fourth straight title. She beat Sabalenka in a straight-sets final. The result was the same in Rome, where Swiatek took her third WTA Tour 1000 of the year and ran her streak to 28 straight matches.

Make that 35. Swiatek’s last four victories at Roland Garros were all over future Top 10 players -- Gauff, Daria Kasatkina, Pegula and Zheng Qinwen. It was her second title on the red clay in Paris in three years.

The transition to grass proved to be the deal-breaker. Swiatek managed to beat two qualifiers at Wimbledon before falling to Alize Cornet in straight sets.

In each and every tournament, all players but one are destined to lose. For more than four months and six events, Swiatek never experienced that empty feeling. Far from being daunted by the enormous weight of expectation that comes with No.1, she actually seemed energized by it.

Those 37 consecutive match-wins were the longest WTA Tour streak since Hingis posted 37 straight some 25 years earlier.

An unlikely reclamation project

Swiatek finished the season strong, winning the US Open and collecting her first year-end No.1. It was much the same in 2023. In retrospect, the sequel only suffered in comparison to the year before.

“Everybody’s after you,” Navratilova said. “Every single person. You are going to be on their resume forever, because how many times do you beat a No.1 player in the world?

“You can’t win, you cannot move up in the rankings. You can only widen the gap.”

Swiatek repeated her titles in Doha, Stuttgart and at Roland Garros, but with so many points to defend, Sabalenka gradually ran her down. When Swiatek went out in the fourth round in New York and Sabalenka advanced to the final, the run at No.1 was over at 75 weeks.

At that point, it seemed likely Sabalenka would finish as the year-end No.1. Swiatek, though, wasn’t accepting that popular narrative.

After splitting matches in Tokyo, losing to Veronika Kudermetova, Swiatek went on another one of her streaks. At the WTA 1000 in Beijing, she beat Top 10 players Gauff and Caroline Garcia on the way to the title.

Heading into the WTA Finals in Cancun, Swiatek knew precisely what she had to do -- and she went on to do it with precision. Swiatek dusted Marketa Vondrousova, Ons Jabeur and Coco Gauff in the group stage -- in straight sets. And then lifted her game even higher.

Her semifinal match against Sabalenka was essentially a winner-take-all confrontation. Over two rainy, difficult days, Swiatek carved out a 6-3, 6-2 win to give herself a chance to regain the No.1. The final was an anticlimactic 6-1, 6-0 victory over Pegula.

Sabalenka, who held the championship belt for eight weeks, thus was relieved of that burden. Swiatek finished the season with 11 straight victories. And took home her tour-leading sixth title. She lost only 20 games in Cancun, easily a WTA Finals record.

“Coming back to World No.1, it’s a dream come true, for sure,” Swiatek said afterward. “I would say I wasn’t expecting that right now, this season. I was hoping that maybe next year is going to be my year, but it seems like just working hard and focusing on the right things at the end worked.”

This year, she remains focused -- and it’s still working.

At 24-4 this year, Iga Swiatek holds a record of 123-20 as the top-ranked player.

She’s the only player to win more than one WTA 1000 (Doha and Indian Wells) and the welcoming European clay season beckons; Swiatek has lost a total of three matches on clay in the past two years.

Among the 10 players who have held the No.1 ranking in the past decade, Swiatek (86.2 percent, 119-19) trails only Serena Williams (88.3 percent, 143-19) for winning percentage as No.1 over that span.

While Navratilova acknowledges that total weeks at No.1 is a valid statistic, she prizes a more bottom-line analysis.

“There’s been a bunch of No.1s [29], but they weren’t all No.1 at the end of the year,” she said. “For me, it’s how many times you’ve been No.1 at the end of the year.”

Swiatek, who turns 23 on the last day of May, is in position to achieve a rare three-peat. She has a 2,700-point lead on No.2 Sabalenka and is looking to become only the sixth woman to hold the No.1 year-end ranking for three consecutive seasons, following Evert (1975-77), Navratilova (1982-86), Graf (1987-90, 93-96), Williams (2013-15) and Barty (2019-21).

“One-hundred weeks at No.1 is a huge achievement in any era. Congratulations to Iga. I’m so happy for her and have loved watching her hard work pay off,” Barty said.

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Iga Swiatek the constant source of my Polish pride. Here's to 100 more :).

The numbers behind Iga Swiatek's 100 weeks at No.1

 

Iga Swiatek has reached another career milestone. On Monday, April 22, the 22-year-old Polish star will spend her 100th week as the Hologic WTA Tour World No.1.

We break down the numbers behind Swiatek's memorable ascension to World No.1 in 2022 and her remarkable accomplishments since taking hold of the top spot for the first time.

 
Swiatek's Centennial

5: Swiatek is the fifth youngest player to reach 100 weeks as World No.1 (22 years and 326 days).

1. Martina Hingis: 18 years, 264 days
2. Monica Seles: 19 years, 89 days
3. Stefanie Graf: 20 years, 20 days
4. Chris Evert: 22 years, 293 days
5. Iga Swiatek: 22 years, 326 days
6. Ashleigh Barty: 25 years, 191 days
7. Justine Henin: 25 years, 227 days
8. Martina Navratilova: 25 years, 344 days
9. Serena Williams: 28 years, 212 days

749: Number of days it took Swiatek to hit 100 weeks at No.1 after reaching the top spot for the first time. Only Stefanie Graf, Chris Evert and Monica Seles in fewer days.

1. Stefanie Graf: 693 days
2. Chris Evert: 707 days
3. Monica Seles: 721 days
4. Iga Swiatek: 749
5. Martina Hingis: 812
6. Ashleigh Barty: 861
7. Martina Navratilova: 1,540
8. Justine Henin: 1,547
9. Serena Williams: 2,849

9: Players to reach 100 weeks as the WTA's World No.1. Swiatek is the fifth player to do so since 2000, after Serena Williams, Martina Hingis, Justine Henin and Ashleigh Barty.

From 0 to 100: How Swiatek plotted her path

175: Swiatek's ranking on January 1, 2019. The 17-year-old would play her first tour-level main draw a few weeks later at the Australian Open and make her Top 100 debut six months later.

1: In the fall of 2020, Swiatek became the first Polish player -- man or woman -- to win a Grand Slam singles title at the 2020 French Open.

28: Years since a woman younger than Swiatek won Roland Garros in 2020. At 19 years and 132 days, Swiatek was the youngest Roland Garros champion since Monica Seles in 1992. It had been 23 years since a teenager last won the tournament (Iva Majoli, 1997)

54: Swiatek's ranking going into 2020 Roland Garros, making her the lowest-ranked French Open champion since the computer rankings were introduced in 1975.

28: Games lost by Swiatek during her 2020 Roland Garros run, tied for the second-fewest games dropped en route to the Paris title. Swiatek sits in second place tied with Chris Evert's 28-game mark in 1979 and behind Stefanie Graf's 20-game mark in 1988.

6: WTA titles won by Swiatek before she became No.1 for the first time, including one Grand Slam and four WTA 1000 titles.

18: It took 18 months for Swiatek to ascend to No.1 after winning her first Grand Slam title.

28: Swiatek became the 28th WTA World No.1 on April 4, 2022, taking the baton from Australia's Ashleigh Barty.

13: WTA titles Swiatek won after she became No.1 for the first time, including Grand Slam wins at the 2022 and 2023 French Open and 2022 US Open.

6: Since she claimed the World No.1 spot for the first time, Swiatek is the player with the most Grand Slam titles (3), titles (13), finals (16), wins (131), Top 10 wins (27) and sets won 6-0 (39).


37: Number of consecutive matches Swiatek won in 2022, the longest WTA win streak of the century and longest since Martina Hingis also won 37 in 1997.

6: Consecutive titles won by Swiatek during her 136-day unbeaten streak in 2022.

36: Since 2020, Swiatek holds the most WTA Top 10 wins of any player with a record of 36-13 over that span. Maria Sakkari is the next best with 20.

75: Number of consecutive weeks Swiatek held the No.1 ranking until being overtaken by Aryna Sabalenka after the 2023 US Open on Sept. 11, 2023.

8: Number of consecutive weeks Aryna Sabalenka held the No.1 ranking.

11: Consecutive wins by Swiatek to finish the 2023 season, sweeping Beijing and the WTA Finals Cancun, to retake the World No.1 ranking.

1: Needing to win the match to reclaim No.1, Swiatek conceded just one game against Jessica Pegula in the championships match at the WTA Finals Cancun last fall. It was the fewest games lost in a final at the WTA Finals, breaking the record of two set by Martina Navratilova (1983) and Kim Clijsters (2003).

6: Swiatek became the sixth youngest player to finish consecutive years as year-end No.1 (22 years, 159 days). Only Chris Evert, Stefanie Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis and Caroline Wozniacki were younger.


How Swiatek's stats are stacking up alongside the all-time greats

8: Swiatek is 123-20 as the World No.1. She is one of eight players to win 100 or more matches while sitting in the top spot, along with Martina Navratilova, Stefanie Graf, Martina Hingis, Serena Williams Chris Evert, Monica Seles and Justine Henin.

1: In the last 10 years, only one player has a better winning percentage as World No.1 than Swiatek (86%, 123-20): Serena Williams (88.3%, 143-19).

36: In the past four decades, only Martina Navratilova has claimed more wins within their first 50 matches against opponents ranked in the WTA’s Top 10 than Iga Swiatek.

Victories in first 50 matches vs. Top 10

1. Martina Navratilova: 44
2. Iga Swiatek: 36
T-3. Chris Evert: 35
T-3. Monica Seles: 35
5. Stefanie Graf: 34

35: Grand Slam matches won by Swiatek as World No.1. Since 2000, only two players have won more Grand Slam matches as World No.1: Serena Williams (124) and Martina Hingis (36). Swiatek can overtake Hingis next month at Roland Garros.

2: With two titles from the opening four WTA 1000 events so far this year (Doha and Indian Wells), Iga Swiatek has surpassed Serena Williams for the highest tournament win percentage at WTA 1000 events entered.

80: Swiatek is one of only two players to hold a winning percentage of 80% or higher at WTA 1000 events (80.4%), along with Serena Williams (84.1%).

19: With a 19-4 record in WTA finals, Swiatek has equaled Chris Evert, Gail Sheriff and Nancy Richey for the most wins in their first 23 finals in the Open Era.

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Iga Swiatek falls short of 3-peat in Stuttgart

Well not the result we wanted. Iga's serve and return really let her down today, serve in the 3rd set in particular. 

She had 15 break points or something and only managed to take 2, definitely not great if you want to win. 

Had she gotten that 3-0 lead in the first set being 2-0 15-40 up she probably would have loosened up and it would have been a different match. But it was not to be.

On the other hand Rybakina wasn't even serving at her usual level either, at one point both had a first service percentage of 49. 

Came down to being just slightly better in the important moments in the match. And today sadly Rybakina had the edge. 

Still really proud of the way Iga fought after losing the first set and managing to take it to 3. 

Saving 8 breakpoints in one service game. Can't say she didn't try her damnest even when not firing on all cylinders.

 I'm actually surprisingly not too sad about this loss (sure I'm disappointed she didn't get the 3-peat) would have been another cool thing for the record books. 

But she already has 2 Porsche's, and I have no doubt they will not be her last. 

I'm mostly just sick of the tired narrative every time she loses to Rybakina the whole Iga has a big hitter problem, Rybakina is an all court player, blah, blah, blah. 

I'm not denying that Rybakina causes Iga problems because her serve always does, but let's not exaggerate and start penciling her in as a Roland Garros contender or anything. 

Beating Iga on an indoor clay is one thing, beating her on the normal slower clay of Rome and Roland Garros is quite another. 

Until she beats Iga at one of those tournaments convincingly I'm calling this a one off, and will always give Iga the edge on the surface (serve and all). 

You don't win 3 tournaments at Roland Garros by accident and Rybakina has yet to reach a final there.    

A lot of people on the internet think that Iga not getting enough preparation on clay (due to playing hard courts at BJK Cup right before) was  partly to blame for this loss. 

Maybe a little. 

I'd say mostly in terms of serve prep. But in general Iga herself has stated she has no problem changing surfaces. She did the same thing 2 years ago when she won the tournament for the first time. 

I'm more inclined to agree with the 2nd point people were making on social media and that's Iga's return and her unwillingness to adjust by moving further back and give herself more room to make a good return. 

That seemed to be the biggest culprit today. Hopefully that's something her coach can point out and work on for next time they meet. 

Next up is another unconventional tournament on clay in the altitude of  Madrid. 

Where I believe Iga reached the final last year. 

She has been really good at bouncing back from losses this season, lost in Australia won Doha, lost in Miami won Indian Wells all WTA 1000's as well. 

So maybe this is the year she finally wins Madrid Open.   

As I said the other day if she had to lose to Rybakina I'd rather it was here indoors then in Rome or Roland Garros. 

I'll be ecstatic if she wins another Slam in Paris and nothing else on clay (though I do secretly hope she does well at the Olympics too). Watching her reaction after the loss a few years ago was gut-wrenching.

I will be cheering on Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk tomorrow who has spent a herculean 10 hours on court to reach this final. 

Her matches have been the highlight of the tournament for me this year. 

Really hope she takes it.                                                         

Good effort from Iga this week nonetheless. 

Clay season is just beginning, with true clay still to come. 

On to the next one.

Jazda!.