Iga Swiatek named Polish Sportsperson of the Year
WTA
After producing a ridiculously good season, Iga Swiatek was expectedly named the Polish Sportsperson of the Year, beating out footballing legend Robert Lewandowski.
The season Swiatek had in 2022 was a historic one by all metrics. Not only did she win 70 matches, which is a crazy mark, but she also won two Grand Slam trophies (French Open, Wimbledon) as well as a couple of other big events, such as the Madrid Open and the Italian Open.
She also won the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and the Miami Open), so it’s been a very impressive season by the now-consensus best player in the world. What made her season truly iconic was the winning streak she had.
At one point during the season, Swiatek went on a 37-match winning streak, not losing for basically half the year. That’s just a historically good sequence and very uncommon for tennis, let alone women’s tennis, where parity is what makes it so interesting.
It elevated Swiatek firmly above everyone else, and it’s no wonder her efforts were recognized back home in Poland, where she was named the Sportsperson of the Year.
She had some fierce competition from footballer Robert Lewandowski, who is a legend in Poland. He won this honor three times before and had a decent case to win it once more, but Swiatek proved the more popular choice this time around.
It was quite deserved as well because she was superbly good last year. Another player will hardly ever replicate the type of season she had, and it had to be recognized for its historic nature of it.
It’s also a great achievement for women’s sports in Poland because by winning this award, Swiatek became only the second woman to win it since 2016 and the first tennis player to win it since 1937.
