Iga Swiatek has always been known as a great clay player, and she backed it up this year by dominating the whole WTA Tour on that surface.
Swiatek emerged on Tour as basically a clay specialist. While her junior career saw her win Wimbledon, among other things, everybody knew that playing on clay was her main strength.
It was her favourite surface and the one where her movement really shined. Her breakout came late in 2020 when she surprisingly won the pandemic French Open, which was played in October.
She blasted everyone en route to the final, beating Sofia Kenin in the final and finishing as champion. She didn't drop a single set at that event and finished that year with a 16-2 record on clay.
She backed it up the following year by finishing 12-2 on clay. 2022 saw her win another Roland Garros trophy, finishing 18-1 on the year. This year was another one where she won the Roland Garros trophy and finished with a 19-2 record.
She won only two trophies on clay this year because Aryna Sabalenka stepped up on the surface, beating her in the Madrid Open final. Sabalenka herself finished with a 14-3 record on the surface and was the second-best performer on clay this year.
Swiatek earned 3335 points from clay events this year compared to 2095 by Sabalenka. The 3rd best performer was technically Karolina Muchova, even though the majority of her 1455 points came at the French Open, where she went to the final.
Some other successful players on the surface in 2023 are Elena Rybakina, who improved a lot on the surface and finished 4th overall, and Beatriz Haddad Maia, who finished 5th.
Still, Iga Swiatek remains the queen of the clay, but that can, of course, change. Maybe it will happen next year. Stick with us and find out in a few months when the gracious sun returns to Europe.
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