Swiatek Becomes First WTA Player In 10 Years To Win A Title At Every Level In 2023

Swiatek Becomes First WTA Player In 10 Years To Win A Title At Every Level In 2023

by Nurein Ahmed

Iga Swiatek broke new ground last season when she became the first woman to triumph at every level on the WTA tour in precisely a decade.

The consistent Pole won six singles titles - the most of any woman in 2023 - but that is not where the records end. She replicated a feat last achieved by Serena Williams in 2013, winning at least one tournament in every category - 250, 500, 1000, WTA Finals, and Grand Slam.

She was slow off the blocks at the start of the season but finished with a sprint, passing Aryna Sabalenka in the year-end race for the No. 1 ranking and winning the two big titles in the final weeks. Of her six titles this season, one was at a 250 level in her home city of Warsaw.

It was the first title win in her home country after a very tough loss to Elina Svitolina at Wimbledon. At the 500 level, Swiatek won two trophies, one of which was her first of the season during the Middle East swing.

Swiatek romped to the title in Doha, where she only dropped five games during the week, winning a second straight title in Qatar's capital. She also completed a successful title defense in Stuttgart - her second WTA 500 win of the year at the start of the clay swing.

Her next three were simply the cream of the crop. She bagged her first WTA 1000 at the end of the regular season in Beijing, beating Liudmila Samsonova in the final. And at the WTA Finals, Swiatek adjusted better than everybody else as she forged the most dominant title-winning week in WTA Finals history.

Swiatek dropped 20 games in Cancun - the fewest by a WTA player en route to the title. She also decimated World No. 5 Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-0 in the championship match, in the most lopsided final at the season-ending championships.

The 22-year-old's season highlight was at the French Open, where she won her third crown in Paris. Swiatek overcame a determined first-time Grand Slam finalist, Karolina Muchova, to triumph in three sets. In her young career, Swiatek has hit some incredible milestones which are Hall of Fame worthy.

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