Iga Swiatek finished the year as world number one, which allowed her to get this newest milestone - 80 weeks as the number one player in the world.
Finishing the year as world number one is in ways a cheat code because you get to coast through that part of the calendar. There are no events, and there is no chance of losing your rank while you rack up the weeks as number one. That's what's happening right now to Swiatek as she begins her 80th week as world number one on the WTA Tour.
To put that into perspective, it's quite a bit. She solidified herself as the 10th longest-tenured number one in the history of women's tennis and is getting closer to Lindsay Davenport, number 9 on that list with 98 weeks. She's already ahead of the likes of Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep, and many other great players.
It's just a great thing for her ever-growing legacy. When you think that it almost didn't happen, it adds weight to what she could do in Cancun. The only way Swiatek could have finished as world number one was to win the event and she did that despite the difficult circumstances with the weather and everything else.
Her coach explained well how tricky it was to navigate that event, considering everything that went on. After all, she didn't just win it; she dominated in a historic fashion, which basically proved that she was the rightful owner of the number one rank.
Thanks to that, she'll get a few free weeks as number one before the season kicks off again in January. Then it's going to be a battle to remain number one again as there are a few candidates that will be eyeing that ranking. It should be exciting but for now, Swiatek's legacy will keep growing.
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