Iga Swiatek reunited with the Christ Evert trophy as year-end World #1

Iga Swiatek sweeps WTA Finals takes back year end #1 ranking

 

CANCUN, Mexico -- How do you top a season that's already rewritten the record books?

For Iga Swiatek, you don’t. Or perhaps, you do.

Last year, Swiatek famously ran off with 37 straight wins, more than anyone else this century. She had no competition for her No.1 ranking and, quite frankly, was in a league of her own.

But then this year happened. In September, her 75-week run as the No.1 player came to an end after the US Open. Swiatek was visibly shaken. It turned out the downturn hurt more than she had let on. Afterward, she said all the right things. She was in no rush to take the No.1 back from Aryna Sabalenka. Her focus was to play more freely, to improve herself -- as a player and a person. If she did that, the top ranking would return.

And it did. On Monday, she finished off another ridiculous stretch. A day after routing Sabalenka, Swiatek dropped only a game against Jessica Pegula in the championship match of this year’s WTA Finals. Altogether, Swiatek did not drop a set in Cancun -- this against the best competition in the world.

"2022 was so amazing that I don't know if it's gonna be possible for me to repeat a season like that," Swiatek said. "So I just didn't feel at the end like I'm in the shadow anymore because I knew that I'm having another great season. And honestly, I kind of accepted that I'm not going to have a season like that, like in 2022, and I just looked forward."

Dating back to Tokyo, her first event after the US Open, Swiatek went on to win 12 of her last 13 matches to finish the year. She rolled to the title in Beijing. Then in Cancun, knowing she would likely need to run the table to have a chance at No.1, she became a wrecking ball.

"I learned my lesson and this time I didn't want [the No.1 ranking] to have an impact on me," Swiatek said. "It did a little bit -- it's hard not to think about stuff like that -- but actually, when I went on court, I knew that I had to focus on different things. And actually, the conditions here that were kind of tricky, also helped me to just focus on my footwork, my shots, and that just kept me busy from thinking about all of that."

Against Sabalenka in the semifinals, Swiatek put in one of the most emphatic matches of her career to win 6-3, 6-2. She then outdid that with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Pegula, a player who beat her twice this season. Swiatek bested the marks set by Martina Navratilova in 1983 and Kim Clijsters in 2003 (both of whom lost two) for the fewest games conceded in a WTA Finals title match.

"She's been, in my mind, the one to beat the last couple years,” Pegula said. “She's showing that even when she loses some matches or doesn't win the tournament, that she's still bouncing right back and is playing at a high level every single week.

"That's what a top player does, what a champion does, and I think she showed that."

And with that, Swiatek put an exclamation point on her 2023 season by completing the most dominant run in the year-end championships since the round-robin format was reintroduced in 2003. It was a fitting end for the player with more wins, titles and victories over Top 10 opponents than anyone on tour.

To appreciate what Swiatek has done not just in 2023, but in her back-to-back seasons, look at the company she keeps in the stat books.

The stats that matter:

20: Number of games lost by Swiatek across five matches in Cancun, the fewest games lost since the round-robin format was reintroduced in 2003. She shattered Serena Williams' 2012 run, in which the American dropped 32 games. Swiatek lost just 20.

68: Match-wins for Swiatek in 2023. That's one more win than her 2022 campaign and the most for any player since Williams won 79 in 2013. Swiatek is the first player under 23 to win 65 or more matches in back-to-back seasons since Martina Hingis (1997-2000).

3: Players to win titles at every WTA tournament level in a single season. With her titles in Warsaw (WTA 250), Stuttgart and Doha (WTA 500), Beijing (WTA 1000) and Roland Garros (Grand Slam), she joins Williams (2013) and Petra Kvitova (2011) as the only players accomplish the feat.

33: Top 10 wins since the start of 2020 for Swiatek. How does that compare to the rest of the field? The next most over that time span is Maria Sakkari with 19.

4: Players who won the WTA Finals before turning 23: Kim Clijsters, Maria Sharapova, Kvitova and Swiatek.

2: Number of players in the Open Era to win 17 tournaments in their first 21 finals. With a 17-4 record in finals, Swiatek matched Chris Evert as the only other player to do so.

20: Number of 6-0 sets Swiatek dished out in 2023. She is the first player to register 20 or more in back-to-back seasons since Stefanie Graf and Monica Seles in 1991-92.

13: Number of Top 10 wins this season for Swiatek. She is the first player since Serena Williams (2013- 14) to tally 10 or more Top 10 wins in consecutive seasons.

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What a way to finish the season!. 

I mean you can't get anymore emphatic than that. It's all made especially impressive when you factor in the elements and all the other outside factors she had to deal with this tournament. 

I mentioned earlier in the year that I didn't think Sabalenka would hold on to that #1 ranking for long because Iga would be getting it back in the future. 

The year hasn't even ended yet and here she is back at #1.

Honestly if I ever hear one more person say that Iga's 2023 season was bad and that nothing compares to 2022 I will just point them to all the stats listed in this article because it proves otherwise. 

One of my fave stats missing from the list ending the year as #1 for 2 years running.

This 22 year old does nothing but write herself into the tennis history books with every passing year. 

And it's a real pleasure to witness (still hoping I will get to witness it live one day).

Thank you Iga, for your fight, your drive, your resilience and most of all thank you for all the emotions throughout this season. 

It has been a pleasure to watch you grow as a person and a player. The sport is better with you in it. Get some well deserved rest and all the Tiramisu that you want. 

See you in 2024. 

Jazda! 

Iga Swiatek topples World #1 Sabalenka to reach career first WTA Final

CANCUN, Mexico -- Iga Swiatek defeated World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday at the GNP Seguro WTA Finals.

If Swiatek wins Monday’s championship match against Jessica Pegula, she’ll regain the top spot she relinquished two months ago and finish as the year-end No.1 for the second straight time. If Pegula prevails, Sabalenka will finish on top for the first time in her career.

It’s only the fifth time this century that the No.1 ranking was in play at the WTA Finals, the last occurring in 2009, when Serena Williams caught Dinara Safina at the finish line.

Swiatek is now 6-3 in career matches against Sabalenka -- and has won all four of her matches in Estadio Paradisus, all against Top 10 players. Going back to her recent title in Beijing, Swiatek has won 10 consecutive matches.

The 22-year-old from Poland has dropped a total of only 19 games in Cancun, the fewest by any player to reach the WTA Finals championship match since Justine Henin in 2007. Swiatek is also the youngest player to reach the WTA Finals championship match since Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka in 2011.

Pegula, meanwhile, is also 4-0, winning all her Top 10 matches in straight sets. She’s the first to face the Nos.1, 2, 3 and 4-ranked players in the same tournament since the WTA Tour rankings came into being in 1975 -- and, of course, could be the first to defeat them all.

Swiatek has now won a total of 67 matches this year, besting her marvelous 2022 campaign by one.

The match resumed on Sunday, with 18 minutes elapsed and Sabalenka serving to level the first set at 2-all, 30-all. Swiatek needed only two points to break her serve, setting a tone for the rest of the match.

Swiatek served out the set, hitting a sharp backhand down the line that Sabalenka couldn’t quite track down, sending a running forehand long. While the wind wasn’t as substantial as it had been all week long, it was a factor. There were a number of times when Sabalenka was swinging off-balance along the baseline. Swiatek, with flawless footwork, rarely looked out of sync.

The third game of the second set was a test of wills, won by Swiatek. She converted her fourth break point with another error from Sabalenka. Later, in the seventh game, Swiatek broke Sabalenka for the third time in the match before serving out the win.

The final statistics underlined the narrow margins at play in this match. Sabalenka finished with only five winners -- and 18 unforced errors. Swiatek clocked in with nine and nine, typical of her consistent game.

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Sabalenka wanted a battle for the world #1 at the U.S. Open and Ostepenko spoiled the party. 

Well she finally got it here. And I don't think she enjoyed it much.  

That was about as flawless a performance from Iga as I've ever seen. Might just be her best one of the season. 

She came out a woman on a mission, focused and determined from the get go. 

I think she really wanted her first career win over a world #1. It's almost like she said to herself I may be playing a world  #1 but I'm the one who's actually still the best in the world. 

And then she went on to prove it.

Just another phenomenal showing from this amazing 22 year old.  

A real pleasure to watch.

I will be proud no matter what happens tomorrow, but I will also be cheering with all my heart.

One last push to the finish.

Jazda!

1 - Iga Swiatek became the first Polish female player since WTA Rankings were published in 1975 to defeat the World No. 1 in straight sets (retirements excluded). Pioneer.


19 - Since the current Round Robin format was introduced in 2003, Iga Swiatek is now the player with the fewest games dropped to reach the final (19, level with Justine Henin in 2007). Shocking.

Iga Swiatek sweeps WTA Finals group stages sets up semi final rematch with Sabalenka

CANCUN, Mexico -- No.2 Iga Swiatek and No.3 Coco Gauff secured their spots in the semifinals of the GNP Seguros WTA Finals Cancun on a wind-strewn Friday evening.

Gauff won a battle of two of the Grand Slam champions from this season at the GNP Seguros WTA Finals, defeating Marketa Vondrousova 5-7, 6-7(4), 6-3 in the final round of group play on Friday night.

The win eliminated the Wimbledon champion's hopes of advancing to the semifinals. Gauff is the first teenager to make the final four of the year-end championships since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009.

Later in the evening, Swiatek confirmed her position as the group winner after defeating No.6 seed Ons Jabeur 6-1, 6-2 to go 3-0 in the Chetumal Group.

On Saturday, Swiatek will face No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in a match that could decide the year-end No.1 ranking. If Sabalenka wins, she will finish the year at No.1. If Swiatek prevails, she can retake the top spot only by winning the title. This is a rematch of last year's semifinal in Fort Worth, where Sabalenka won 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. The two have split their two meetings this season, both on clay. Swiatek won the Stuttgart final, while Sabalenka took Madrid.

"We'll see what the conditions are going to be," Swiatek said. "Against Aryna it's never easy. I'm just gonna do my best and focus on myself and what I want to do on court. We usually have these matches that are really exciting and really tough, both mentally and physically."

The other semifinal will showcase Gauff against No.5 Jessica Pegula. It will be the first all-American semifinal at the WTA Finals since the reintroduction of the round-robin format in 2003. Both players are making their semifinal debuts at the year-end tournament. Last year in Fort Worth the duo went winless in both singles and doubles. This will be the third meeting of the year between the two top-ranked Americans. Gauff won on the grass in Eastbourne and Pegula got her revenge during her title run in Montreal this summer.

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76.9% - Iga Swiatek won 20 of her 26 serving games at the WTA Finals 2023 (76.9%): the highest ratio in the Round Robin at the tournament so far. Unbreakable.


4 - Iga Swiatek (66), Jessica Pegula (56), Aryna Sabalenka (55) and Coco Gauff (50) are the only four players with 50+ WTA main draw wins in 2023. Lineup.


4 - The World No. 1 (Sabalenka) and World No. 2 (Swiatek) will face each other at the WTA Finals SFs for the 4th time in the last 40 years after Wozniacki-Zvonareva (2010), Azarenka-Sharapova (2012) and Barty-Pliskova (2019). Show.

Honestly the conditions at this year's WTA Finals have to be the worst in the tournaments history. Rain delays/stoppages for 3, 4 days straight. Gale force winds. A badly constructed court. Lack of crowds due to the late construction and lack of promotion. 

You name it this tournament pretty much has it. A circus is the best way to describe what's been happening this week. And somehow the 8 best women's players are expected to perform with it all. 

It's a damn miracle no one has gotten injured.  

Through it all somehow the 2 best players in the world have made it, and will battle each other for the year end #1 ranking. 

In that sense you can't write a better script (except for maybe having it in the final instead of the semis). 

But it's just sad that instead of enjoying quality tennis we're getting the result of whoever deals with the conditions better. 

That is not what the WTA Finals was designed for and it's not what it's suppose to be about. 

Whoever thought it was a good idea to play the final tournament of the year on an outside court in a tropical city at this time of year should A. be fired and B. never do it again. 

The WTA leadership needs a serious overhaul starting with getting rid of Steve Simon because he has been failing time and time again especially when it comes to this event post pandemic. 

They need someone who not only cares about the sport itself (the business side of it) but the women playing it. Because this whole week has been abhorrent.                                                  

Iga Swiatek gets the better of Coco Gauff once again to stay ahead in WTA Finals group stage

 

CANCUN, Mexico -- Iga Swiatek sure looks like someone intent on regaining her No.1 ranking. On Wednesday, she defeated Coco Gauff 6-0, 7-5 at the GNP Seguro WTA Finals.

Swiatek is now 2-0 here, but has not officially qualified for the semfinals after Ons Jabeur beat Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets.

“In the second set, obviously, it got more tight,” Swiatek told reporters afterward. “I was happy I stayed focused. I had plenty of chances in her first service games to break back, but I knew somehow I would use one of those chances.”

Swiatek, now 2-0 here, is now in an excellent position to win the Chetumal Group and advance to the semifinals, pending the result of the later match. Gauff, meanwhile, will likely have to defeat Vondrousova on Friday to have a chance to lock down the second spot in the group.

Swiatek beat Gauff for the ninth time in 10 meetings, all of which have come in straight sets. Their rivalry has some historic relevance. It’s only the fourth time competitors have played 10 or more times this century, and look at the quality of their predecessors: Kim Clijsters-Justine Henin, Agnieszka Radwanska-Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki-Dominika Cibulkova.

Gauff ended a 0-for-7 streak against Swiatek in the Cincinnati semifinals, but their past two matches have been one-sided. Gauff, 19, has been scorching hot since August, going back to her title in Washington, D.C., producing a record of 23-3. Two of those losses came to the World No.2.

The first set was a disaster for Gauff, who seemed unnerved by the breezy conditions on Estadio Paradisus. Swiatek, attacking Gauff’s sometimes faulty forehand, calibrated her shots far better in the wind. Gauff grew increasingly frustrated, bouncing her racquet off the court and throwing up her hands after another errant forehand.

Gauff won four of 16 serve points in that first frame and was broken all three times. After a scant 28 minutes, she was down a set.

It was, incredibly, the fifth 6-0 set of the tournament’s first seven singles matches.

The second set was an impressive reset for the teenager. She crafted two break points, converted one and raced out to a 3-1 lead. That was when both players started playing some of their best tennis.

Throughout the match, Swiatek targeted Gauff's forehand, which she hit an average of 6 mph slower than her backhand.

In all, there were five breaks in the second set. Serving for the set, Gauff stroked four consecutive double faults. The last break came when Swiatek broke Gauff for the third straight time when an overhead found the net on match point.

Statistically, Gauff struggled, serving 10 times -- with six breaks by Swiatek. The American finished with only five winners, against 30 unforced errors. Swiatek was 11 and 23 and was broken only once.

“I would say this match wasn’t consistent, in terms of the level," Swiatek said. “So for sure, adjusting to everything that happened was the most important thing. It took me a while because I was a break down in the second set.

“I’m happy that I could actually problem solve a little the way to win these last games. And the key was, maybe being confident and mentally not focusing on the score, but really just sticking with the plan that worked in the first set.”

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30 - With victory over Coco Gauff in Cancun, Iga Swiatek has matched Monica Seles for the fewest matches taken (44) to achieve 30 wins against opponents ranked in the WTA's top 10 in the past four decades. Dominant.


65 - Iga Swiatek is the third player in the last 30 years to win 65+ WTA Tour matches for consecutive seasons after Jelena Jankovic (2007-2008) and Martina Hingis (1999-2000). Incessancy.


With her win over Coco Gauff at the WTA Finals, 
@iga_swiatek has become the first woman to record 65 wins in back-to-back seasons in *15* years—since Jelena Jankovic in 2007-2008.  She's also the first player, male or female, to record 65 wins *this* year:


10 - Iga Swiatek is the first player to secure 10+ wins against top-10 opponents for consecutive seasons (15 in 2022 and 10 in 2023) since Serena Williams in 2013-2014. Juggler.


22 - Iga Swiatek is the first player to win 22 sets with a 6-0 scoreline in a single season since... Iga Swiatek in 2022 (also 22). Serious?

Why write a summery of this match when I can just throw these awesome stats on here, which I can always look back on :D Iga Swiatek making tennis history with every passing day :)