Iga Swiatek becomes 4th woman in 21st Century to hit incredible clay court milestone

Oli Dickson Jefford 29 Jul 2024 1:38 PM

Iga Swiatek waves to the crowd after victory at Paris 2024.

Iga Swiatek was able to secure a bronze medal at Paris 2024.

It has been business as usual for Iga Swiatek on the clay in Paris.

The world No 1 is a heavy favourite for gold at the Olympics and a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win over France’s Diane Parry powered her safely into round three at Roland Garros.

All eyes are on whether she can strike gold, but she has already made history.

Thanks to her epic clay exploits, Swiatek is now one of just four women this century to win more than 20 consecutive matches on the dirt.

Iga Swiatek – 21 (and counting)

Aged only 23, Swiatek has already proven herself as an all-time great on clay, with four French Open titles in the bag.

This year proved to be one of her most dominant clay seasons yet, and she has now won 21 matches in a row on the surface.

After being beaten by Elena Rybakina in the last four at Stuttgart, the world No 1 claimed back-to-back WTA 1000 victories in Madrid and Rome – defeating Aryna Sabalenka in both finals.

That was followed by her fourth title at Roland Garros, saving match point in round two against Naomi Osaka before steamrolling her way through the rest of the draw.

Opening wins over Irina-Camelia Begu and now Parry make her unbeaten in 21 matches on the dirt now, and it is hard to see when that run will end.

Maria Sharapova – 21

Once a self-proclaimed ‘cow on ice’ on the surface, clay would become Sharapova’s most successful surface – with two French Open titles to her name.

And her run to her first title in 2012 makes up part of her 21-match win streak on the surface.

After losing to Serena Williams in the Madrid quarter-finals, Sharapova bounced back to claim the title in Rome, and then defeated Sara Errani in the French Open final to complete the Career Grand Slam.

The following season, the former world No 1 started her clay court season in fine style, easing to the title in Stuttgart and then reaching the final in Madrid – where Williams ended her run.

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Justine Henin – 27

Outside of Swiatek, Henin is the only other woman to win four French Open titles post-2000 – and is another all-time great on clay, winning 27 matches in a row at one stage.

The Belgian’s best run on the dirt began at the Charleston Open in 2005, where she beat Elena Dementieva in the final.

That was followed by triumphs in Warsaw and Berlin, before defeating Mary Pierce in the French Open final to win the second of her four titles at the event.

Henin returned to Charleston to defend her title in 2006, where Patty Schnyder snapped a 27-match win streak on clay with victory in their semi-final encounter.

Serena Williams – 28

An accomplished clay court and arguably the best female player in history, Williams’ 28-match winning run on the surface is the best of any woman this century.

Williams run was in 2013 and, much like Henin, began in Charleston, beating Jelena Jankovic in the final for her first title on the dirt that year.

The American followed that up by beating Sharapova in the Madrid final and Victoria Azarenka in the Rome final, before again defeating Sharapova to win her second title at the French Open.

After an early Wimbledon loss, she then returned to the clay in Bastad and got back to winning ways, downing home favourite Johanna Larsson.

Her run ended at the start of the 2014 clay season – when she was beaten by Jana Cepelova in Charleston.