Iga Swiatek gallery: The incredible rise of the new World No 1

James Richardson
Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek celebrates winning the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. Photo: Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic/Imago/PA Images

A second round victory at the Miami Open over Viktorija Golubic has ensured that Iga Swiatek will become the first Polish woman to be the WTA World No 1, when the rankings update after the tour’s current stop.

Swiatek needed only to win her first match in Miami to secure her ascension after the previous World No 1 Ashleigh Barty announced her shock retirement.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek was a precocious junior who caught the eye on the ITF’s age-group tours and bagged a heap of titles and accolades before turning professional at the age of 18.

Swiatek was the French Open girls’ doubles champion alongside Caty McNally in 2018, and later that year won the Wimbledon girls’ singles title.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek made the main draw of a WTA Tour event for the first time at the 2019 Australian Open, just a few weeks into her professional career and scored a first round win over Ana Bogdan.

Swiatek earned acceptance into the main draw directly for the first time at the Ladies Open Lugano in April 2019 and went on to make the final of the event.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek upset No 3 seed Viktória Kužmová in the second round of the Ladies Open Lugano to claim her first career top 50 victory on her way to a first WTA Tour final.

Swiatek also struck what was voted the 2019 WTA Shot of the Year on her way to the final at the Swiss National Tennis Centre.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek reached the fourth round in her first appearance at Roland Garros in 2019  upsetting World No 16 Wang Qiang in the second round to seal her first top 20 victory.

Swiatek’s 2019 didn’t finish on the best note but 2020 would prove to be a massive year for the young Pole.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek reached the fourth round of the Australian Open yet again in 2020 before the Grand Slam schedule was thrown into disarray.

Swiatek’s finest hour to date came at the rescheduled French Open, when she became the first Polish player to win a Grand Slam singles title ever.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek was the first Pole to win a Grand Slam singles title, seeing off Sofia Kenin of the United States after an unusual French Open blighted by cold weather.

Swiatek was the lowest-ranked French Open champion in the history of the WTA rankings but she rose to No 17 in the world after her run in Paris.

Iga Swiatek
Publicity shy Iga Swiatek has shunned the spotlight that comes with being a top player and is at heart still a fan of the game.

A third trip to the Australian Open fourth round came at the outset of the 2021 season as tennis desperately sought a ‘new normal’ but soon after she claimed her first WTA Tour title in Adelaide.

Iga Swiatek Iga Swiatek won her first WTA Tour title at the Adelaide International after she beat Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in straight-sets to complete a near-perfect tournament where she did not drop a set.

In 2021 Iga Swiatek qualified for the WTA Tour finals for the first time.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Rome paved the way for her to become the first player born in the 21st century to qualify for the WTA Finals.

Swiatek finally broke her fourth-round curse at the Australian Open in 2022.

Australian Open
Iga Swiatek made it to the semifinals of the 2022 Australian Open, a career-best effort that signalled she would be a force to be reckoned with throughout the year.

Swiatek won her second WTA 1000 title at the Qatar Open continuing a fine run of form in 2022.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek continued her charge up the WTA Rankings with a second Masters title in Doha after she lost just two games in the final against fourth-seeded Anett Kontaveit.

Swiatek remained unbeaten at WTA 1000 level in 2022, when she ran through the competition at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden to take home the BNP Paribas Open title and move up to WTA World No 2.

Indian Wells
A second WTA 1000 title of the season for Iga Swiatek propelled her into the No 2 spot on the WTA Rankings and made her the heir apparent to Ashleigh Barty’s No 1 ranking.

 

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