Iga Swiatek's control of the No. 1 ranking for more than two years has been incredible, and a feat she accomplished this week proves the extent of her dominance.
Swiatek first became No. 1 on April 4th, 2022. After an incredible start to the season, she replaced Ashleigh Barty, who had retired from professional tennis. The Pole would go on to have an incredible 37-match winning streak that was finally broken at that year's Wimbledon.
She retained her position at the top for 75 weeks. During that time, Swiatek's achievements included two French Open titles, winning the 2022 US Open, and a second consecutive Italian Open crown.
The five-time Grand Slam champion was just 20 years old when she first became No. 1, making her consistency at No. 1 even more impressive and inspirational to fans worldwide.
Swiatek's first spell at No. 1 ended after the 2023 US Open. Aryna Sabalenka's run to the final at Flushing Meadows gave her enough points to overtake the previous year's champion in New York in the rankings.
Some expected Swiatek to suffer a dip in form for the rest of 2023 after that setback. After everything she had achieved in the previous 75 weeks at No. 1, it would have been entirely understandable.
Instead, Swiatek swiftly recovered and regained the world No. 1 ranking after winning the 2023 WTA Finals. She only dropped one game in the final against Jessica Pegula to storm to the year-end title.
The Pole has been No. 1 since. However, she is currently in transition after splitting with her longtime coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski. Their success during three years together, including becoming world No. 1 twice, made that decision surprising.
Appointing a new coach after working with the same person for so long is undoubtedly a stressful process, but Swiatek does have something to celebrate this week after becoming the seventh woman to complete an outstanding accomplishment.
Swiatek began her 50th week at world No. 1 on Monday. That makes her the seventh woman to record multiple 50-week stints at No. 1 in the WTA rankings, achieving that at the age of just 23.
Tennis legends Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, and Serena Williams are the only other WTA players to manage that superb feat.
Having two separate 50-week stints at No. 1 proves Swiatek's all-around ability. It is impossible to be No. 1 for as long as the Pole has without also being a great hardcourt player as well.
Unfortunately for Swiatek, her second spell at No. 1 will come to an end in a few weeks. Sabalenka guaranteed her return to the top of the rankings after beating Yulia Putintseva at the Wuhan Open.
Swiatek will not play any tournaments until the WTA Finals next month, meaning she cannot avoid dropping the points she won at the 2023 iteration of the year-end tournament. However, Swiatek can regain the spot at the WTA Finals, as she did last year.
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