'She inspires us' - From Osaka to Jabeur, players react to Swiatek's streak

MADRID, Spain -- World No.1 Iga Swiatek will not be playing this week's Mutua Madrid Open, but the 20-year-old was the talk of the town at the tournament's media day on Wednesday. Coming off her 23rd consecutive victory to capture her fourth straight title at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Swiatek withdrew from Madrid citing a shoulder injury and need for a well-deserved rest.


Having swept the tour's first three WTA 1000 titles in Doha, Indian Wells, and Miami before winning her first clay title of the season in Stuttgart, Swiatek's historic run has left her peers in a state of awe.

"She inspires us, to be honest," World No.10 Ons Jabeur told reporters at Media Day in Madrid. "We want it or not, she's an inspiration to a lot of players, and me included.

"I hope I can achieve that level because I don't know what she's doing right now, but what she's doing is right. To be able not to lose a match is the goal for every player and I hope she can continue that way.

"But not against me," the Tunisian added with a laugh.

Naomi Osaka got a front-row seat to the Swiatek show at the Miami Open last month, as the Pole defeated the former No.1 6-4, 6-0 in the final. With her win on Sunday over No.4 Aryna Sabalenka in the Stuttgart final, Swiatek became the first player to win 23 matches in a row since Osaka during the 2020 to 2021 seasons.

"I think it’s really awesome what she’s doing," Osaka said. "I wish I would be able to win four tournaments in a row.

"I think to me she just looks really concentrated, which is really cool at such a young age. I think she has a goal, maybe we all don’t know about that goal, but it really looks like she has a purpose. It’s really cool to see her playing that well and I really want to play her on clay just to see what happens."

Swiatek has certainly noticed the change in tenor from her peers but says she's been moved by the positive messages she's received as she's marched through the draws.

"I feel like they're kind of watching me a little bit more," Swiatek told reporters after withdrawing from Madrid. "I don't know if that's a positive thing or not, but there are many players who congratulated me and who I could see that they feel sympathy. It was pretty nice talking to some of them.

"It surprised me because I didn't know if people are going to be, I don't know, jealous or if they're going to imagine they're being in my position. But honestly, I really appreciate how they are all treating me, so it's pretty nice."

No.5 Maria Sakkari has seen how Swiatek's game has evolved over the last two seasons. Sakkari went 3-0 against Swiatek last season, but has lost their two meetings during the streak, including the Indian Wells final.

But there are no hard feelings. The Greek star relishes their budding rivalry.

"I've been telling you guys that she has been doing the right things," Sakkari said. "You don't win four tournaments in a row if you don't deserve it. It's exciting. She's obviously feeling confident.

"But I see myself up there and I see that I can be one of the players that can make her feel that it's tough when we play each other. She has actually said it a lot of times, how we have a great rivalry. It's great for our sport because she's a young player, she has a different personality, in a good way, of course. It's exciting for our game now that Ash is not here."

Jabeur echoed Sakkari's sentiments. From their perspective, Swiatek has seamlessly slipped into Ashleigh Barty's shoes.

"It didn't happen just over a day," Jabeur said. "Even though Barty was No.1 and she took off her name, it was completely deserved for Iga to be there and she showed it, winning all the tournaments.

"I hope she feels well. I know playing a lot of matches is not easy. We saw how Barty she played a lot of matches last year and how she got injured at the French Open. So it's a very smart move for her maybe to take care of her body."

New World No.2 Paula Badosa has practiced with Swiatek since their days grinding it out on the ITF Circuit. The two remain frequent practice partners before big tournaments and the Spaniard continues to marvel at Swiatek's unique skill set.

"Mentally she's different," Badosa said. "The way she plays, she has special hands. She has magic. From the middle, she opens the court very easily. She moves amazing.

"She has everything to be World No.1. She totally deserves it. And I'm even more happy, because she's a humble person and she's very normal."

Swiatek's down-to-earth temperament was a common refrain amongst the player set.

"Obviously, you can tell she's a very, very nice girl," Sakkari said. "She's a very good person. You can tell from her eyes and from her and from her aura and everything.

"She has something, not a superpower, but something special. She's like Eleven in Stranger Things. She has something."

Said Jabeur: "Iga is always nice. She didn't change. I like her, I like her team a lot.

"And she's a very humble person. And honestly, I respect humble people a lot because I hate when people change because of a ranking, you know?"

 wtatennis.com

Iga Swiatek withdraws from Madrid to allow arm to rest and prepare for Rome defence

World No.1 Iga Swiatek has withdrawn from this week's Mutua Madrid Open, citing a right shoulder injury.


"Basically, it's not like we have some drama because everything is okay," Swiatek told reporters at Media Day in Madrid. "You can see in Stuttgart that basically I'm doing fine. We just thought that this is the best decision for me to recover properly because I didn't really have time to recover after all these tournaments. After each of them I had like two days to chill out and then I had to come back to work and adjust to so many different things in every place.

"So basically, right now I feel like this is the best decision for us to get ready for Rome and have the peak of my form in Roland Garros."

The 20-year-old Polish star is riding a 23-match win streak after winning her fourth consecutive title at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The win on indoor clay came after becoming the first player to win the first three WTA 1000 events of the season at the Qatar Total Open, BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open. By winning Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back in March, Swiatek became the fourth and youngest woman to win the Sunshine Double.

Madrid Preview: Osaka, Andreescu look to build momentum in Madrid

Set to play as the top seed in Madrid, Swiatek was due to open her tournament on Friday against a qualifier. The next player to be seeded, Leylah Fernandez, will move to Swiatek's place at the top of the draw.

"I wanted to play it really badly, honestly," Swiatek said. "But sometimes you just have to make the smartest decision possible. My heart was like, 'Hey, Iga, this is Madrid.' I only had one chance to play here, and I feel like I could do better. So I wanted to improve the result that I had last year.

"But I'm pretty happy that my team sometimes is also taking a lot of responsibility. I trust in them and I know that they're going to make the right decisions because I've never had a situation, in terms of planning and in terms of looking more to the future and not what's going on right now, I've never had a situation when their decision was wrong.

"So basically I trust them completely and I feel like just a couple of days off and then having time to actually practice a little bit more and focus on the technical stuff is going to do me only good."

The Madrid Open is the first WTA 1000 event of the clay season. Main-draw play begins on Thursday. For a full analysis of the draw, click here.

Swiatek's next tournament will be the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, where she is the defending champion. Rome begins on May 9.

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Smart decision from her team. Even a young body needs time to properly regenerate not to mention the mind. 

Now she can properly relax before starting fresh in Rome. 

Plus I'm fairly certain she wants to give herself optimal chances for Roland Garros this year. 

Champions Corner: Stuttgart champ Swiatek on her new car, memes and more

STUTTGART, Germany -- Iga Swiatek wants to entertain you. The World No.1 made that clear once again at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, where she extended her winning streak to 23 consecutive matches to win her fourth straight title.

Swiatek came into her first clay event of the season fresh off a dominating performance for Poland at the Billie Jean King Cup but her commitment to the national competition meant little time to get begin her adjustment to clay.

Just four days after her last hard-court match, Swiatek played her opening round in Stuttgart and proceeded to defeat Eva Lys, Emma Raducanu, Liudmila Samsonova and No.4 Aryna Sabalenka to win her third clay-court title. Her 3-hour and 3-minute win over Samsonova was the longest match of her career, earning a 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5 victory.

"Well, this is another tournament where I surprised myself," Swiatek told reporters after the win. "That I can do it and basically that I don’t need to be 100 percent perfectly prepared or I don’t need to feel 100 percent to still play really good tennis and play solid matches. The transition was pretty quick and I had a lot of doubts. I just didn’t want to really focus on that and I just focused on what I have influence on. So, yeah, this is another tournament that has shown me that I can do it no matter what."

The World No.1 joined the WTA Insider Podcast to try and wrap her mind around what she's achieved over the last nine weeks before discussing her love of cats, confetti and memes.

WTA Insider: You said in your press conference that you had a lot of doubts coming into this tournament. What were those doubts and how did you address them throughout the week?

Swiatek: Basically the last time I played on clay was a year ago, so I wasn't sure how well I was going to transition and whether I could actually do it in two days. Before the first match I think I spent two hours on court. I always heard that this surface is tricky and it's weird and different than any other. So that's why I had most of my doubts, basically.

I'm pretty proud of myself that during the tournament I was able to adjust and to learn, because before it wasn't that easy. Right now I feel like during I can learn a lot so it's just more peaceful at the beginning because I can trust my skills and my abilities a little bit more.

WTA Insider: Do you feel like you're on autopilot?

Swiatek: Not really. Today it was a good day for me to be in the zone and be really focused, but yesterday I felt like I need to put more and more work in every game to stay focused. So yesterday I didn't feel I was on autopilot because every day is different. You wake up and you can feel that. Many thoughts are running through your head and you know it's going to be harder to stay focused.

So yes, I still feel like every day is different and some moments are tricky. So I don't feel like I'm on autopilot, but for sure I feel like I can use my skills better and better and play more efficient tennis and be more smart on the court.

WTA Insider: You were in Stuttgart without your coach Tomasz Wiktorowski and sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz. But your father and fitness coach were here. What was it like to navigate going to a new tournament, with unique conditions, without your full team?

Swiatek: Honestly, all these things are something I have to adjust to, but on the other hand, they are letting you play without expectations because you know that it's different and you know that you can make some mistakes and you have to accept that. So even when everything is not perfect it's kind of easier to play because you're going to forgive yourself if you're going to make some mistakes. You're going to say 'Hey, it's my first time here, stay cool, let's just gain experience.' But still, you have to do the work. I think I did that good this week.

It didn't matter for me if my whole team is here or not because on court I'm by myself anyway. But for sure at some points, I felt like I was missing some of the people I lean on. But tactically I could prepare the same way because my coach, we had daily talks about how I'm feeling here and what I can do better. He has so much experience from being on tour and being so many times here being with Agnieszka, so I really wanted to use that.

Daria was also talking to me. We had a few sessions this week, must overall about the clay season and my feelings here and how I can shift my focus from all these doubts to actually working harder and finding solutions and maybe being excited about having the challenges that I have. So we worked a lot on my attitude. They're working really hard even though their bodies are not here. So all credit to my team because without them I would be really confused here.

WTA Insider: Do you have a sense that you're doing something special right now?

Swiatek: When I let myself not be a tennis player but be someone who's observing tennis, I can feel that.

WTA Insider: What were you doing to pass the time this week?

Swiatek: I just got one day off. I wanted to have some peaceful time in my hotel room because before I had Billie Jean King Cup and then I had to practice here and think a lot about the surface and analyze a lot. So I used this day off to rest properly and not be occupied by all the stuff that is going on. The amount of media and autographs I've done since Doha has been kind of crazy. For sure having this one day off helped me recover better. I'm not saying it's a negative thing. It's just new things you have to do.

WTA Insider: It was a sold-out final and we saw a lot of Polish flags flying. Are you used to your stature with fans?

Swiatek: I am kind of used to it, but still I want to use it the right way in matches when I have the right situations. I saw before some matches where players took a lot from the crowd and they could come back in matches. But it's pretty easy for me because I always wanted to play for people and it's natural for me to be in front of the crowd. The first few matches after Covid it was pretty hard to focus properly but honestly, I love it.

WTA Insider: Are you excited about taking home the Porsche Taycan?

Swiatek: Yes, for sure. It's a pretty weird position that I'm in because I just did my driver's license six months ago. I'm super excited. It was a great week because I got to learn a lot about the cars and getting excited and fascinated by other stuff than tennis. It's something new because for a while I was just occupied with tennis.

My physio knows a lot about cars so he's going to help me choose the proper one. I don't know if you know that, but I'm not really good at making decisions.

WTA Insider: So I have to ask you about the water bottle spill during the semifinals. What happened there?

Swiatek: It wasn't water, so I'm lucky it didn't go to my shoe because it was going to be sticky. There were carbs and I wanted to shake them. For a second I didn't know what is going on. I saw the cameraman and I thought, 'Shoot, he must be laughing.'

I know there's a nice GIF of that on the internet. That's also entertainment. I'm pretty happy that I'm entertaining to people.

WTA Insider: You've become a bit of a meme queen on social media.

Swiatek: Honestly, I was already a meme queen at my middle school. But that was pretty mean from the other kids. But I was. Maybe that's another thing I was born to do. I don't know if I should be happy or sad about that.

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Iga Swiatek wins 4th straight title of the year in Stuttgart

 

World No.1 Iga Swiatek just keeps on winning. The Polish star won her fourth consecutive title and her 23rd straight match with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over No.3 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final on Sunday.


Swiatek made her Stuttgart tournament debut a triumphant one by completing her week with a commanding 84-minute victory over the fourth-ranked Sabalenka. Swiatek collected her seventh career Hologic WTA Tour singles title.

Iga yet to be stopped: Swiatek’s winning streak began with a title run at WTA 1000 Doha, and she remained undefeated at WTA 1000 events this year by sweeping through the Sunshine Double of Indian Wells and Miami.

Two additional wins for her Polish squad at Billie Jean King Cup qualifying gave Swiatek a 19-match winning streak coming into the indoor clay of WTA 500 Stuttgart.

Liudmila Samsonova pushed Swiatek to the limit in Saturday’s semifinals, snapping the top seed’s run of 28 straight sets won in the process. But Swiatek pulled through that match in three hours to set up a meeting against Sabalenka, where the No.1 once again swept through a final.

After the match, Swiatek said joining the other players in the list of longest win streaks since 2000 is "pretty surreal, honestly. A few years ago I wouldn’t even think about being in this kind of group.

"For sure right now I need to work harder to keep this streak, but I’m just going to take it match by match, and I’m super proud of myself and really satisfied. These are the kind of players who were role models when I was growing up."

Aside from losing her first final to Polona Hercog as a 17-year-old in 2019, Swiatek has been dominant in finals. She has won seven finals in a row since then without dropping a set and has lost no more than five games total in each of those championship matches.

Swiatek is now the first player to win 30 matches this season and improved her 2022 record to 30-3. After dropping her first meeting with Sabalenka at last year's Akron WTA Finals, Swiatek has won their following two clashes in straight sets.

"I worked hard this week to adjust properly and to play my best tennis on this surface," Swiatek said. "I’m pretty proud of myself and pretty proud of my team because basically after yesterday’s match, it wasn’t easy to reset physically and mentally and be ready for today."

Tale of the final: Swiatek had to save a break point in the opening game with a rally crosscourt backhand, but she methodically moved through the set from there, surviving a patch of brilliant Sabalenka backhands as the Pole picked off big points in a handful of tight games. An untimely double fault by Sabalenka on set point ceded the opener to Swiatek.

The 2021 Stuttgart runner-up Sabalenka toughed out a service hold from break point down at 1-1 in the second set, deploying multiple forehand winners down the line. But Swiatek found perfect placement on her shots down the stretch, grabbing the last four games to finish off the final and grasp her latest trophy.

All told, Swiatek’s 17 winners outpaced Sabalenka’s 13, and the top seed won 77 percent of her first-service points. She was never broken on the day.

wtatennis.com

What can I say at this point honestly. 

Just beyond amazing, how Iga is able to keep doing this. Especially after such a long physical match the night prior. 

I was a bit disappointed with Sabalenka's performance I expected it to be more of a contest given she has actually been playing well in this tournament.. 

But  at the same time I'm not surprised by it she has always been very hot and cold. When her serve is working she's hard to stop, when it's not her whole game falls apart. 

She doesn't have a plan B beyond the serve and that's always been the issue. 

Iga on the other hand has learned to problem solve when her serve isn't working. And her mental resolve this year has just been on another level. 

The way she can focus and play point by point is the mark of  so many great champions. And makes her very difficult to beat. 

Samsonova nearly managed it. But I think winning that one just give Iga even more confidence she's doing the right things. 

I will add I was not at all impressed with Sabalanka's attitude and speech at the trophy ceremony. Came off sounding very petty and immature. 

Obviously she very badly wanted to win the car given how much she's been talking about it. 

Totally get it.  

But the words she chose and her whole demeaner came off very disingenuous and just rubbed me the wrong way. 

But back to Iga, let's see so this make it 4 title in a row, career title #7, a 23 match win streak and a win loss record of 30-3 matches for the year. Insane levels of good.  

Playing like a true world #1.

It's a good thing Iga finally got that drivers license this year so she can enjoy that amazing ride. 

The word Jazda is going to have a whole new meaning for her when she's driving around in that Porsche. 

Congratulations Iga you continue to awe and amaze the sport of tennis and it's so fun to watch you do it. 

Get some well deserved rest, and see you in Madrid!

Iga Swiatek survives 3 hour tassle to make it 22 victories and reach Stuttgart final

The photo that pretty much says it all in regards to this match

World No.1 Iga Swiatek needed to work extra hard to collect her 22nd consecutive victory, outlasting Liudmila Samsonova in a 3-hour tussle to reach the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final in her tournament debut.

World No.1 Iga Swiatek had to pull off a grueling comeback win in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix semifinals to keep her incredible winning streak alive, as she overcame Liudmila Samsonova 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5 to move into her fourth Hologic WTA Tour singles final of the season.

Swiatek is now up to 22 straight match-wins on tour after a walloping 3-hour and 3-minute victory over World No.31 Samsonova. Swiatek is the tour match-wins leader for 2022 overall, with her win-loss record this season up to 29-3.

After gritting out this hard-fought triumph, Swiatek's run will next be tested against No.3 seed Aryna Sabalenka in Sunday’s final. In a tussle between Top 5 players, 2021 Stuttgart runner-up Sabalenka defeated No.2 seed Paula Badosa in Saturday's earlier semifinal.

Iga ekes out another win: Swiatek nearly saw her tremendous run — which includes three consecutive WTA 1000 titles in Doha, Indian Wells, and Miami — come to an end against the blistering power play from Samsonova.

Samsonova did snap Swiatek’s 28-set winning streak with a tiebreak victory at the end of the 71-minute opening frame. The pair went toe-to-toe for the remainder of the clash, with Samsonova twice charging back from a break down in the third set, before Swiatek prevailed in the marathon.

Despite the loss, it was still another banner week for Samsonova in Germany. Samsonova won her first singles title in the German capital of Berlin last year as a 106th-ranked qualifier, and she earned her first career Top 10 win just two days ago with her upset of Karolina Pliskova.

Tale of the match: Swiatek saw a 4-1 lead in the opening set dissolve against her powerful opponent. Samsonova saved four break points for a crucial 4-4 hold, and she took charge in the tiebreak with stellar serving, quickly leading 5-2. Two more unreturned serves from 5-4 in the breaker saw Samsonova hand Swiatek her first lost set in over a month.

Top seed Swiatek was unable to shake Samsonova off for much of the second set, but at 4-4, a divine deep return gave the World No.1 the only break of that set. Swiatek served the set out at love, and the match was all square.

Swiatek had early control of the third set at 3-1, but Samsonova reeled off three games in a row to claim a 4-3 lead. In the end, though, it was Swiatek who again came through with a late break, forcing errors from Samsonova to move ahead 6-5. Swiatek swiftly served out the match, clinching the whisker-thin win.

World No.4 Sabalenka awaits in the final: Swiatek and Sabalenka have split their two previous meetings. Sabalenka prevailed in three sets at last year's Akron WTA Finals, but Swiatek avenged that loss in straight sets en route to her 2022 Doha title.

wtatennis.com

Did not need my blood pressure raised so early in the morning. 

Thanks for that Iga :D. 

Boy, what a battle this one turned into. I knew it would be but after a really good start in the first I thought it would be more routine. 

Turned out to be nothing but!. 

The last time she had a battle like this was Aussie Open quarter-finals against Kaia Kanepi all the way back in January. So safe to say it's been a while sine I've had to feel any kind of stress during her matches.

I had my doubts about Iga polling this one out to be honest. But she showed once again, how far she has come mentally and hang in there to prevail in the end. The Iga of last year probably would have lost this match. 

But Iga of 2022 doesn't panic and finds solutions. 

As true champions so often do. 

It was still quite something to see. She may have lost the 28 consecutive sets streaks but keeps her consecutive matches streak alive at a whopping 22. 

Just incredible. 

This win makes it Iga's 4th final of the year, one she really had to fight for, something her opponent didn't have to do as much of. 

Iga didn't play her best at times today, but she gets another chance. So I hope she can recover and give it her all tomorrow because something tells me it'll be another battle. 

 As in any competitive sport it's not how you start that counts but how you finish. Winning the first set will be crucial. Jazda Iga!. Go get that Porsche!. 

Iga Swiatek overcomes stern test from Emma Raducanu to make it 21 in a row & reach semis in Stuttgart

In a highly anticipated quarterfinal at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Friday, World No.1 Iga Swiatek of Poland overcame a stern effort by No.8 seed Emma Raducanu of Great Britain before triumphing 6-4, 6-4.

For Swiatek, the 1-hour and 45-minute victory over reigning US Open champion Raducanu marks her 21st straight match-win. It is also the Polish star’s tour-leading 28th victory of the season thus far.

"I'm not thinking much about what's happened, and also what's going to happen," Swiatek said, after yet another victory. "[I'm] just focusing on the next match, and I'm really doing everything to prepare and recover well after each round. ... It seems like I'm going with the flow, but behind it, it's hard work."

Iga keeps rolling: Swiatek’s latest win extends more of the streaks she is currently carrying as well. For starters, Swiatek now has won her last 13 matches in straight sets. The last set she dropped came against Angelique Kerber in the Indian Wells Round of 16 over a month ago.

By defeating World No.12 Raducanu, Swiatek has also won her last seven matches against Top 20 opposition. Her last loss against a Top 20 player came to then-No.1 Ashleigh Barty at Adelaide in January.

Moreover, Swiatek is now 4-0 against British players in her pro career. Before topping Raducanu on Friday, Swiatek defeated Heather Watson at 2019 Toronto qualifying and 2021 Eastbourne, and beat Harriet Dart at this year’s Australian Open.

Raducanu, who won her first two clay-court matches at a Hologic WTA Tour event this week, acquitted herself well in her first match against a Top 10 opponent. After nearly two tight sets, Raducanu had two chances to break serve in the last game of the clash before Swiatek claimed the last semifinal spot.

Match moments: Swiatek broke Raducanu in the opening game of the match, and the Pole held that lead the whole way through the first set. The players had an equal number of unforced errors in the first set, but Swiatek had nine more winners during that timeframe.

Raducanu, though, continued to press in the following set, earning her first break of the day in the second game. However, Swiatek used her deep, heavy shots to push Raducanu back in rallies and was rewarded with another break for a 2-1 lead.

Swiatek again held that advantage up to 5-4, but the top seed was tested in that game, when Raducanu's defense drew Swiatek into errors. Swiatek had to stare down two break points at 15-40, but the Pole withstood them before converting her second match point with a sturdy forehand.

In the semifinals, Swiatek will meet big-hitting Liudmila Samsonova, in their first meeting.

"I've seen the scores, and it seems like [Samsonova] is getting more and more confident, and her ranking is going up," said Swiatek. "So for sure she's one to watch, and she's doing huge progress. ... I need to tactically prepare tomorrow, and I'll be ready."

wtatennis.com

Well I said prior to the match that I thought Raducanu would be Swiatek's first real test. And it certainly was that. Bu it's good for her to have those as she gets closer to the finish line, because it only gets harder. 

Especially if it's Badosa who makes it to the final. 

But I'm also not discounting Iga's next opponent I've seen how fearless she plays and how well she serves. 

Iga is going to have her work cut out for her tomorrow. 

She will definitely have to serve well and keep her concentration all the way through. 

It could be another tough test. 

Especially given Iga has admitted she hasn't quite gotten used the indoor clay surface in Stuttgart, as was evidenced by the number of times she lost her footing in a rally. 

Hopefully, she'll come up with some good tactics to not allow Samsonova to dictate and play on her terms. 

This was Iga's 21st consecutive win and her 13th straight set. Unreal. 

Let's keep this train going. Jazda!. 

Bianca Andreescu makes winning return to tennis with win in Stuttgart

For the first time in seven months, the world's heard "Game, set and match, Andreescu."


The 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu made a winning return to the Hologic WTA Tour on Tuesday at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix with a 7-6(5), 6-3 opening round win against Jule Niemeier of Germany.

The former World No. 4, now ranked No. 121, last played in October at the BNP Paribas Open and told WTA Insider ahead of her season debut that she was considering retirement during her recent break from tennis, but that her competitive fire recently returned.

And that fire was on full display in her 1-hour, 44-minute victory inside Porsche Arena against local favorite Niemeier, where she rallied from 5-3 down in the opener and saved a set point before turning the match around.

Andreescu's assessment: "I felt that it took me a while to get my rhythm, but she presented very good tennis," Andreescu told WTA Insider after the match.

"I'm just super happy with how I dealt with everything; especially towards the end of the match, I felt like I had a clear mindset, but it was definitely very emotional, so to get out of that state was hard, but I'm glad that I managed.

"I got a little teary-eyed at one changeover, because I was like, 'Oh my god, I'm back playing again and I'm feeling good.'"

Andreescu also saved two break points at 5-5 en route to her first clay-court win in nearly a full year. In her tournament debut, she moves on to face No. 3 seed and last year's finalist Aryna Sabalenka for what will be their first tour-level meeting. It'll be just her second match against a Top 10 opponent in three years and first on clay.

"I'm happy to play her finally on the tour at this level," Andreescu said. "She's a hard hitter, she loves her serve, she loves her forehand and she's a great fighter. I'm going to have to bring my 'A' game, because I know she'll bring hers."

Stat check: Andreescu's first match since October couldn't have gone better on the stat sheet, either. She hit 22 winners and six aces to 17 unforced errors and saved 5-of-6 break points she faced, while also breaking World No. 108 Niemeier three times. She's now on a 27-match winning streak against players ranked outside the Top 100.

wtatennis.com  

I have honestly forgotten how much I missed Bianca Andreescu's craft on a tennis court. 

The fact she was able to play so well after a 6 month absence is a huge promising sign, and an indicator of more success to come.

Hopefully this win will be the stepping stone to some good things for her this year.  

I cannot wait for her to meet with Iga Swiatek, now THAT will be a match everyone will want to see in 2022.  

Welcome back Bianca Andreescu, the world of Tennis has really missed you.

Iga Swiatek makes it 20 straight victories with Stuttgart opener

No.1 seed Iga Swiatek's streak remains alive. On her Porsche Tennis Grand Prix debut, she raced past qualifier Eva Lys 6-1, 6-1 in 1 hour and 2 minutes to notch her 20th straight match victory and 26th set in a row.


Swiatek's set-winning streak is the longest since Serena Williams's 28 in a row between the 2012 US Open and 2013 Australian Open. Thirteen of Swiatek's sets have been won either 6-0 or 6-1, and she has lost just seven games in her past four matches.

Her match-winning streak is the eight-longest this century, and she is three matches away from tying Naomi Osaka in seventh place.

Swiatek's last loss came to Jelena Ostapenko in the second round of Dubai in February; since then she has won three consecutive WTA 1000 events in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami, followed by spearheading a successful Billie Jean King Cup campaign for Poland against Romania. The 20-year-old last dropped a set in the fourth round of Indian Wells to Angelique Kerber.

Match management: The scoreline underlines Swiatek's dominance both generally and against Lys - but belies the spirit shown by the battling No.342-ranked German, playing her first ever WTA main draw.

Swiatek landed 18 winners to Lys's three, and dropped just nine points behind her first serve. At times, her forehand was unplayable, and her speed and anticipation meant that Lys struggled to find a way to get the ball past her. The home player's initial strategy of attempting pure first-strike tennis also resulted in a slew of unforced errors to start the match.

Lys showed her best tennis when almost down and out. She faced a point to lose each set 6-0, but engaged in her grittiest rallies to escape those games and get herself on the scoreboard. In the second set, this even involved a last-ditch break of the Swiatek serve.

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Next up will be young 19 year old Emma Raducanu. Last year's surprise U.S. Open Champion. 

I fully expect Iga to win this, based on her form and experience on the clay. 

But it could be the first real challenge of this tournament for her. 

Cannot wait!. 

Jazda!

Iga Swiatek extends hard court win steak to 19 Poland qualifies for Billie Jean King Cup finals

 

World No.1 Iga Swiatek won her 19th straight match on Saturday, leading Poland into the finals of the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup, the preeminent team competition in women's professional tennis.


Swiatek gave Poland an insurmountable 3-0 lead in their qualifying tie against Romania with a flawless 6-0, 6-0 victory over Andreea Prisacariu. Top-ranked Swiatek converted all six of her break points en route to the 52-minute win.

By adding yet another triumph to her career-best winning streak, Swiatek gained Poland's required third match-win of the week, qualifying her country for the November finals. 12 nations will compete for the prestigious crown in the finals.

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Iga Swiatek continues hard court streak with a win for Poland at BJK Cup

 

The Billie Jean King Cup qualifying round kicked off on Friday, with 14 nations facing off in home-and-away ties to determine who will advance to November's finals of the preeminent team competition in women's professional tennis.


Day 1 matches saw World No.1 Iga Swiatek and reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu among the players who picked up wins for their countries. Three match-wins by a country are required over Friday and Saturday to make the finals.

Swiatek breezed past former Top 20 player Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania 6-1, 6-0 in under an hour to complete a 2-0 opening day for Poland. Swiatek has now won 18 matches in a row, spanning Hologic WTA Tour events and the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying round.

"The streak that I have on the WTA Tour has given me so much confidence that right now I can just put pressure on my opponents and that's really a privilege," Swiatek said afterward, as noted by the Billie Jean King Cup website.

Earlier, Magda Linette, a recent quarterfinalist in Charleston, gave home team Poland an early lead over Romania with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 win over Irina-Camelia Begu.

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Not even Roger Federer & Anne Hathaway upstages the Grand Tour of Switzerland

 

I need to see bloopers of this ASAP :D 

Champions Corner: The mindset that paved the way to Swiatek's sweep

Unprecedented. That's the only way to describe Iga Swiatek's sweep of the first WTA 1000 events of the season, capped off by her 17th consecutive win on Saturday to wiSwiatek, 20, became the youngest woman to win Indian Wells and Miami in the same season, joining Stefanie Graf, Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka as the only four women to do so. With her win in Doha in February, Swiatek became the first player to sweep the first three WTA 1000s in a season.

Inside the Numbers: The stats behind Swiatek's sweep to the Sunshine Double

That she did it all while managing the surprise Ashleigh Barty's sudden retirement to dominate a draw that included wins against Coco Gauff, Petra Kvitova, Jessica Pegula and Naomi Osaka in the final only adds to the degree of difficulty. After winning her opening match over Viktorija Golubic, Swiatek sealed her ascension to the No.1 ranking vacated by Barty. On Monday, Swiatek became Poland's first World No.1.

We left January wondering, "How do you beat Ash Barty?"

Two months later, we're wondering the exact same thing about Iga Swiatek.

Swiatek and her sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz joined the WTA Insider Podcast to discuss the keys to their success.n the Miami Open and complete the Sunshine Double.

WTA Insider: When you look back on the past six weeks, what was the key to sweeping these three tournaments?

Swiatek: That's a hard question because basically, I would say physically it was hard to keep up, staying in the routines and also being focused on eating healthy and all these small things that are around and that are pretty annoying after a few weeks. That was tough.

I think the thing that made the whole difference was my attitude and my different mentality. Right now, I feel like I can play more fearless tennis and use all the stuff that I've been working on in practice and convert it into my match game. That's the most important thing because we have to perform the best in tennis. At the end, when I was stepping out on court I was pretty confident that I can dominate.

WTA Insider: In Miami, you were winning your matches by executing a variety of different game styles. You weren't playing the same way all the time. How long has it taken you to have the confidence to be able to implement different game styles?

Swiatek: I'm glad that Tomasz has convinced me to work on having more variety. I think this really helps because in the end if you don't have options then you have nothing to choose from, you know? So I'm really happy that I could do that.

But actually, I think that this year I'm not adjusting that much to what my opponent is playing. It's really helpful because it helps me stay focused on myself, on my skills, on my powerful shots, and I can actually use what I was working on. Last season I felt I was maybe overanalyzing a little bit how my opponents were playing and that leads to more confusion. So I think not adjusting is working better. I don't know why.

WTA Insider: You're not adjusting in-match, but you're going in with a clear game plan?

Swiatek: For sure I have a plan and statistically, I know where my opponent is maybe going to make more mistakes. But in the end, it's my game that's going to force them to make the mistakes so I'm just focusing more on myself.

WTA Insider: What has been the key to your return game this year? You lead the tour in return games won. What's your attitude in return games?

Swiatek: On return, it's all about the reaction and the movement. The movement is always something that I've been comfortable with. This year I feel like I'm a little bit quicker maybe, and I can actually have more initiative on return games, not only push it back sometimes.

That's the only thing I can tell you. The other stuff [is a secret].

WTA Insider: You'll be Poland's first World No.1 on Monday. You said after the final that early in the tournament, you weren't sure if you deserved it. Why did you think that at the time and did winning Miami help to close that gap?

Swiatek: It helped for sure. After Miami, I thought that maybe it would happen anyway if Ash wasn't retiring.

But at first, for sure the way it happened I wasn't 100% satisfied because I knew Ash has the best tennis out there. When I was playing against her I felt like I had much more to improve. For me, she was the one to be World No.1 for these times. It gave me a lot of motivation to work on myself and I realized that maybe in a few years it would be possible for me.

But the way it happened, it didn't help for me to believe that I deserve it. Also, I'm so young. I know that there are many players who have been on tour for more than 10 years didn't have a chance to be World No.1.

WTA Insider: 26-3 and now we go to your favorite surface. What is your mentality with respect to getting back on clay and whether any of this impacts how you go into this section of the season.

Swiatek: It is really exciting because I always felt like even when I'm going to have the same results on clay it's always more comfortable for me to play on clay. I'm just more comfortable there. Actually, I feel like I can hit even more variety than on hard courts.

Basically, I don't care what my results are going to be. I know there's going to be a lot of pressure and I can't promise that I'm going to handle it well because I've never been in a situation like that before. So I'm going to do my best to do that well.

 
Highlights from Abramowicz's interview on the WTA Insider Podcast

Abramowicz: At the end of the day, my role is to help her create, build and sustain routines and also modify and manage them in many different environments. Because that's how the tour works, with the intensity of travel, changing time zones, changing places, changing venues, even the positions you're in throughout the year.

Iga is now No.1. A week ago she was probably thinking, 'OK, I achieved the No.2 position but now there is Ash and I want to chase her.' Now it changes overnight. Sometimes you might become No.20 or drop more in the rankings. It happens, that's how it is. So creating some sort of routines and building the toolbox that helps in different circumstances is one of the most relevant and crucial ways.

If I can say it another way, in Doha, when she was warming up before the final against Anett Kontaveit, we were at the gym. There were two TVs and there was no one to switch them off. On one of the screens was the live broadcast from BBC, the other from Al Jazeera from Ukraine.

Sometimes you have these sorts of circumstances. We would say this is the crisis management of my profession. Sometimes it happens. Covid happened. Other things happened. We try to build a system that works in different environments and different circumstances even if they are really tough ones.


In sports and also in business, people are trying to prepare themselves for coping with a loss or worse performance when they're underperforming, what to improve, what mistakes were made and how to adjust. This is great. Obviously, it helps to develop and it helps to reframe sometimes and adjust. This is really important.

But on the other hand, I would say we don't put enough attention to thinking and working on how to manage a success. This is something that is important to be able to prepare a player, team and environment for everything that happens when you achieve your goal.

Being No.1, winning a tournament, this is a goal. It's not a dream that is impossible to think about in terms of being real or potentially happening. This is a real-time goal. I'm putting a lot of attention and a lot of effort into preparing everyone, especially Iga, to manage a success when it comes. I think this is an approach that helps in top sports, even in terms of building confidence.

What we did across this last few weeks was develop this mindset that allows you to accept that there is no streak that goes indefinitely. At some point, she will lose a match. First, she will lose a set, and it will happen, she will lose a match. Maybe in some circumstances, she will underperform because something will happen, or she or we will make a mistake. And that's ok because that's life, that's sport, that's the beauty of it, that's the reality.

But once you accept that it might happen, that doesn't mean that you're willing to do it. This mindset still keeps you very close to the high standards to create the best possible quality and focusing the energy on the things you can control. So this is the biggest factor in developing the mindset that she is in.

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Iga Swiatek's route to clinching an HISTORIC Sunshine Double in Miami

Iga Swiatek the first ever Polish female or male tennis World #1

 

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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Iga Swiatek bests Osaka completes the "Sunshine Double" in Miami

Iga Swiatek continues her incredible run on Hologic WTA Tour hard courts, as the Polish player defeated Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-0 in the 2022 Miami Open final to win her 17th straight match and her third consecutive title.

On Monday, Swiatek will ascend to World No.1 for the first time in her career, and she will move to that position with authority following her commanding 1-hour and 17-minute victory over former World No.1 Osaka.

Sunshine Double complete: Swiatek also joins an exclusive club by becoming only the fourth woman to win the "Sunshine Double" — titles at WTA 1000 Indian Wells and Miami in the same season. Swiatek, 20, is the youngest woman to pull off the Sunshine Double.

Swiatek joins Stefanie Graf (1994 and 1996), Kim Clijsters (2005) and Victoria Azarenka (2016) in completing that amazing feat. Once Monday hits, all four of those women will be on the list of World No.1 players.

Owning the WTA 1000s: Swiatek's career-best winning streak continues unabated, with all of her last 17 wins coming at the first three WTA 1000 events of the season.

The Pole swept the titles at WTA 1000 Doha, Indian Wells, and now Miami, joining Serena Williams (2013 – Miami, Madrid, Rome, Toronto) and Caroline Wozniacki (2010 – Montréal, Tokyo, Beijing) as the only players to win three or more consecutive WTA 1000 titles in a single season.

But Swiatek stands alone as the first player to win the first three WTA 1000 tournaments in a season. Overall, it is her fourth career WTA 1000 title, and the sixth Hologic WTA Tour singles title of her already outstanding career thus far.

Moreover, Swiatek becomes the first player to win 17 consecutive matches on hard courts in a single calendar year since Serena Williams won 20 straight hard-court matches between the Australian Open and Toronto in 2015.

Match moments: A tricky 10-minute game started proceedings, with Osaka saving two break points and withstanding seven deuces before holding. A handful of close games followed before Swiatek claimed the first break of the day with a backhand crosscourt winner to lead 3-2.

That would prove to be the deciding moment of the clash, as Swiatek marched to the one-set lead despite Osaka's bold returning tactics from deep inside the court. Swiatek kept the momentum as the second set began, breaking Osaka right away with aggressive returns of her own.

All told, Swiatek reeled off the last seven games of the match to extend her stunning winning streak. Swiatek never faced a break point in the affair, and prevailed on exactly two-thirds of Osaka’s second-service points (20 for 30).

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17th consecutive match win.  Back to back to back WTA 1000 titles. 

Career title #6 (without losing a set!).

Youngest woman to complete the Miami double at 20 (Kim Clijsters was 21). 4th woman in history to complete the Miami "Sunshine Double". 

First woman to sweep the first 3 WTA 1000's in a season. And the official world #1 come Monday. 

Is this real life?.  Absolutely incredible. 

She continues her extraordinary record in semis and finals. Not to mention bagelling her opponents in 3 out of 4 of those finals...mind blowing. 

I honestly did not expect Iga to dominate as much as she did, but at the same time nothing surprises me anymore with the form she has been in and the way she has been playing. 

I felt a little bad for Naomi to be honest, but I love the respect they have for one another. 

I hope there are many more matches to come between them, because their rivalry is great for tennis. And their friendship off court is just lovely. 

I am honestly speechless with what Iga has been able to do the last few months. 

It's unheard of.  

She has officially and rightfully withdrawn from the green clay event in Charleston next week.

About time she gets some well deserved rest. Now she can have some time to decompress and let it all sink in. 

Not to mention getting some much needed family time whom I'm pretty sure she hasn't seen  since after winning Doha.

Though I also hear she wants to get some surfing lessons in before leaving Miami. 

Well done Iga, you have made Poland so extremely proud. 

Enjoy the fruits off all your incredible achievements.

See you on the clay!