Iga Swiatek equals another brilliant record as she stays in the hunt for year-end No 1 ranking

Shahida Jacobs 06 Nov 2023 7:32 AM

Iga Swiatek, of Poland, celebrates after winning her tennis match

Iga Swiatek brushed aside rival Aryna Sabalenka to set up a WTA Finals showdown with Jessica Pegula with her hopes of securing the year-end No 1 ranking now within her grasp.

Four-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek had to win the 2023 WTA Finals undefeated to beat reigning world No 1 Sabalenka to the year-end No 1 ranking and she is now just one victory away from achieving the feat.

At the start, it seemed like an impossible task, but Swiatek has made light of the mission as she is yet to drop a set at the end-of-season tournament.

Her latest win – a 6-3, 6-2 success over Sabalenka – means she now holds the joint record along with Justine Henin (2007) for the fewest games dropped to reach the final of the WTA Finals as both sit on 19 games dropped.

She is also the first Polish women’s player to defeat the world No 1 in straight sets since the WTA Rankings were introduced in 1975 while she is also the youngest player to reach the final of the year-end tournament since 2011.

The 22-year-old has now notched up 67 wins this season – the same amount of matches she won in 2022 despite what some say has been a “poor” 2023 campaign by her lofty standards.

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.#WTAFinalsCancun | @WTA @WTAFinals @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/8o7TUP0X37

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) November 6, 2023

Swiatek didn’t really want to discuss the No 1 ranking after her latest victory.

“I feel like it’s still a long way away because I feel like Monday’s match will be the toughest one,” she said. “We can talk about it tomorrow after the match. I’m just going to continue doing what I’ve been doing in [recent] days.

“I can’t truly tell you the keys for tomorrow. I’m going to work on that tonight.”

Both Swiatek and Pegula will play in the WTA Finals showpiece match for the first time in their careers as last year the former was beaten in the semi-final by Sabalenka while Pegula failed to win any matches during her debut campaign in 2022.

Pegula is also yet to drop a set during the tournament as she beat Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Maria Sakkari and Coco Gauff in straight sets.

The final was rescheduled for Monday after heavy rain and wind forced organisers to push back the Swiatek-Sabalenka semi-final to Sunday.