How Iga Swiatek broke a world record in her first-round match at US Open

Wednesday, 27 August 2025 at 19:00

byErik Virostko

Iga Swiatek is used to breaking world records, and she broke yet another one in her first-round match at the 2025 US Open.

Swiatek might be only 24 years old, but she is already a tennis legend. As a six-time Grand Slam champion, she is used to winning, and that applies mainly to her opening-round matches.

It's been some time since Swiatek lost an opening-round match. In fact, she has now won 65 consecutive opening-round matches, with this streak dating back all the way to 2021 when she lost her first match at the WTA Finals.

Since then, the Polish player has won a total of 65 opening-round matches, with her latest win coming in the first round of the US Open against Emiliana Arango, breaking Monica Seles' previous record of 64 consecutive opening-round wins.

What other records does Iga Swiatek hold?

Swiatek holds many records on the WTA Tour. For example, at 20 years and 10 months, she became the youngest woman to complete the Sunshine Double (winning the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open).

She is also the only player to have won the first seven sets she played in the finals of majors, and is one of only three women to have won a Grand Slam singles final with a double bagel (6-0, 6-0). Dorothea Lambert Chambers and Steffi Graf are the other two women.

Swiatek is also the youngest woman to win four French Open titles, doing so at the age of 23 years and 8 days. She also lost the fewest games on the way to a WTA title at the 2023 Qatar Open (5), and also lost the fewest games in a round-robin format of the WTA Finals (20).

Swiatek says ignoring New York distractions helps her succeed at the US Open

Swiatek is a former US Open champion, but that doesn't mean the New York Slam is a tournament where she always feels comfortable. She exited the event before the quarter-finals in four of her six appearances.

This year, she was asked about how comfortable she felt on the courts, and after beating Arango, she explained that she feels like she is good at ignoring the noise of New York and focusing only on herself. She will try to use that to her advantage also in her second-round match against Suzan Lamens.

"I mean, in 2022, it's not like I played amazing from the beginning. I think it was probably the toughest Slam that I had to overcome a lot of challenges, and I managed to win it."

"So, every year is kind of tough because New York is just so loud, and it's hard to find that balance of the court, but I got to say I'm probably good at it, compared to other players. So, I'm really trying to be in my bubble."

"And the comfort level, it's hard to describe because the tournament is so long. You basically are here for 3 weeks. So, obviously, it's not going to be the same every day, but I feel pretty happy with my performance in Cincinnati and trying to get some confidence from that, and there are a lot of positive vibes in the team, so it's all good."