Iga Swiatek has attained a new milestone in the WTA rankings as of Monday, May 20th, thanks to her breathtaking performance at the Italian Open.
Swiatek clinched her third title in Rome, beating World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka. Unlike their epic match in Madrid, which lasted three hours and included match-point saves, this one was rather straightforward.
The Pole put on a clinic on Saturday, taking just one and a half hours to extinguish Sabalenka’s hopes. She lost just five games. Swiatek now owns the most titles by a WTA player this season with four, despite her underwhelming start at the Australian Open.
The victory also made Swiatek the third woman to win the Madrid-Rome double after Dinara Safina (2009) and Serena Williams (2013). This week, Swiatek chalked off another landmark.
The fortnight in Rome will certainly cement her spot at the top of the world rankings after the clay-court swing, regardless of her result at Roland Garros, where she is seeking her fourth crown.
Her current points tally of 11,695 is the highest she has achieved in her career. Prior to that, her biggest total was 11,085, which she compiled at the end of the 2022 season and the start of January 2023.
Swiatek is now over 3000 points ahead of Sabalenka in the standings. But there is more. The 22-year-old now has the most ranking points of any woman since Serena Williams tallied 12,721 points during the 2015 US Open.
Because Swiatek can't add points at the French Open as she is the defending champion, it is not beyond her to beat Williams' total when the grass-court season begins.
It is turning out to be a historic year for Swiatek on many levels. She joined the women’s Top 10 club for the most weeks at No. 1 very recently and is steadily climbing that ladder.
So far this season, no woman has come close to ending her dominance. With four titles to boot, Swiatek will now head to Roland Garros as the clear-cut favorite for the title.
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