Iga Swiatek has widely been considered the best player for the past two years, so the fact that she started the 2024 season with five wins, which is a first, is certainly a terrifying prospect for the rest of the Tour.
If you're a young and up-and-coming tennis player who is hoping to get their big break in 2024, then you probably know who the person to beat is. For much of the past two years, it's been Iga Swiatek, as she still currently occupies the top spot on the WTA Rankings.
She's been utterly spectacular; there is just no other way of putting it, and while some players here and there stepped up, ever since Ashleigh Barty retired, it's been the Pole's show for the most part.
The most frightening part of that equation is the fact that she's still improving. She's been pretty amazing so far in 2024, winning her first five matches, which is actually her career-best start.
If we look at previous years, we'll notice that she generally lost before getting to her fifth match. In 2021, she lost in her second match. In 2022, Swiatek was beaten in her fourth match.
The same thing happened in 2023, but now, in 2024, she finally won that fourth match, followed by the win in her fifth. Her performances in those matches showcased a new set of skills, which she's slowly introducing in live matches.
She admitted as much recently, and the combination of that is just very bad news for the rest of the WTA Tour. Not only has she been the best player in the past two years, not only is she becoming better every day, but she's also maturing as a player.
This career-best start certainly proves that; whether it will translate to Melbourne glory remains to be seen. The 2024 Australian Open starts on January 14th, and she will be the biggest favourite to win it.
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