- Iga Swiatek has won 23 matches in a row and four consecutive titles after beating Aryna Sabalenka in the Stuttgart Open final
- world No. 1 has been in incredible form in 2022 and is rivalling some of the greats like Serena, and Venus Willaims with her achievements
- Ashleigh Barty led the WTA Tour with five singles titles, but she retired recently, and Swiatek is on track to surpass that total
Iga Swiatek is simply unstoppable right now.
The 20-year-old won her fourth title in a row after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Stuttgart Open.
Since mid-February, Swiatek hasn’t lost a match and has stepped up to the plate in spectacular fashion after succeeding Ashleigh Barty as world No. 1 following her retirement.
Iga Swiatek at Stuttgart Open 2022. Photo: Eurosport
“I worked hard this week to adjust properly and play my best tennis on this surface,” Swiatek said after her latest win.
“The title means so much to me because the week has shown me that I can also win tournaments even if my preparation isn’t quite perfect or if I don’t have too much time to get used to a new surface.
“If I concentrate on my game, then everything’s possible.”
We look at some of the remarkable numbers behind Swiatek’s season so far as she continues to roll through the women’s game.
23 WINS IN A ROW
Swiatek hasn’t lost a game in over two months. Jelena Ostapenko defeated her in the last 16 of the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships on February 16.
She has been unstoppable since, winning the Qatar Open, Indian Wells, Miami Open, Billie Jean King Cup, and now the Stuttgart Open in a row.
Only four women have won so many games in a row this century: Victoria Azarenka, Justine Henin, Serena and Venus Williams.
World no 1 Iga Swiatek. Photo/WTA
Swiatek’s absolute dominance over the last two months was heightened by the fact that she won 14 consecutive matches in straight sets before being pushed to three in the Stuttgart Open semi-finals by Liudmila Samsonova.
World no 1 is the first WTA Tour player to win 28 consecutive sets since Serena Williams did it between the 2012 US Open and the 2013 Australian Open. Swiatek’s 14 straight-set victories included five over top-10 players.
Swiatek’s career has been defined by his ability to win in straight sets. She made her breakthrough at the 2020 French Open without dropping a set, and she won 31 of her 36 matches in straight sets last year.
30 WINS THIS SEASON
Swiatek won 36 matches in 2021, and at her current rate, she will likely surpass that total by the end of May.
Paula Badosa, the new world No. 2, has the second-most wins this year (20), followed by Veronika Kudermetova (16) and Maria Sakkari (16).
Swiatek has only lost three times this year to Jelena Ostapenko in Dubai, Danielle Collins in Melbourne, and Ashleigh Barty in Adelaide. Swiatek has a chance to win more games with more than half the season still left.
2000 POINTS CLEAR AS WORLD NO.1
Swiatek’s victory in Stuttgart puts her nearly 2,000 points ahead of world No. 2 Paula Badosa at the top of the WTA rankings.
She has ranking points to defend on clay after winning the Italian Open last year, but she can also gain points in Madrid, where she lost in the last 16 last year, and the French Open, where she lost in the quarterfinals last year.
Iga Swiatek (left) beat Emma Raducanu in Stuttgart Open quater finals. Photo MARCA
If she maintains her current pace, she could be well ahead of the chasing pack when the grass season arrives.
Swiatek’s most recent seven finals are as follows:
- 2020 French Open– beat Sofia Kenin 6-4 6-1
- 2021 Adelaide International– beat Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-2
- 2021 Italian Open– beat Karolina Pliskova 6-0 6-0
- 2022 Qatar Open– beat Anett Kontaveit 6-2 6-0
- 2022 Indian Wells– beat Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-1
- 2022 Miami Open– beat Naomi Osaka 6-4 6-0
- 2022 Stuttgart Open– beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-2 6-2
FOUR TITLES THIS SEASON
Last season, Ashleigh Barty led the WTA Tour with five singles titles, but Swiatek is on track to surpass that after winning her fourth of 2022 in Stuttgart.
Swiatek had only won three tournaments before the start of the year, one of which was the 2020 French Open, but she now has seven for her career.
She’ll be looking to add to her trophy cabinet over the next six weeks, with WTA 1000 events in Madrid and Rome before the French Open.
Serena Williams was the last player to win more than five WTA titles in a season, with seven in 2014.
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