Growing up in Poland around the time when Agnieszka Radwanska was in her prime, Swiatek's career path was clear, especially because her parents, Tomasz, and Dorota Swiatek, wanted her and her sister Agata to be athletes.
Her sister, who is three years older, chose tennis as one of her sports, and Iga followed her. Swiatek, who was born on May 31st, 2001, in Warsaw, Poland, trained in one of the capital's clubs, Mera Warsaw, before moving to Legia Warsaw as a 14-year-old.
That was also about the time when her talent became apparent. The Polish player had some injury problems that forced her to miss one year during her junior career, but despite that, she was able to win the 2018 Wimbledon Girls' Singles.
Swiatek made her debut on the WTA Tour quite early when she played at the 2019 Australian Open. Only one year after that, the Polish player managed to put together one of the most impressive Grand Slam runs in history and introduce herself to a broader audience.
At the 2020 Roland Garros, Swiatek entered the tournament as world no. 54, but what followed after that was an incredible journey on which she never dropped more than five games in any of the matches to win her first Grand Slam title, beating the likes of Simona Halep and Sofia Kenin along the way.
Thanks to the run, Swiatek entered the Top 20 in the WTA Rankings, and she steadily continued rising through the ranks. In 2021, she debuted in the Top 10, and one year later, the Polish player became the world No. 1 after Ashleigh Barty's retirement from professional tennis.
Swiatek's dominance continued in 2022 when she won another Roland Garros trophy, and also her first hard-court Grand Slam at the US Open. During her first stint as the world no. 1, the Pole occupied the spot for 75 consecutive weeks before Aryna Sabalenka dethroned her in 2023, even though Swiatek defended her French Open title but couldn't do the same at Flushing Meadows.
