Iga Swiatek produced a perfect performance in the title match for this year's WTA Finals to win the tournament for the very first time.
On her inexorable march to the final, Swiatek equaled the record for the fewest games conceded. Among her victims were World No. 3 Coco Gauff and top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, who was dethroned from the World No. 1 ranking by the Pole at the end of the tournament.
Swiatek demolished Jessica Pegula 6-0, 6-1 in Monday's rescheduled final, in what has now become the most one-sided final match at the WTA Finals. The 22-year-old broke the record, previously held by Martina Navrativola and Kim Clijsters who both won the season finale with mirror scorelines of 6-2, 6-0.
Navratilova won the 1983 championship beating her best friend Chris Evert, while Clijsters equaled that feat in 2003 when she defeated Amelie Mauresmo. Swiatek's 6-0, 6-1 win over Pegula usurps both of them in terms of the fewest games ceded in the final.
Her title-winning week is undoubtedly the most dominant by any player in WTA Finals history. Legendary American Serena Williams previously held that discinting having lost 32 games during her 2012 success. Like Williams, Swiatek did not relinquish a single set.
The result earned Swiatek her sixth title of the season and the 17th of her burgeoning career. And still only 22, there is no ceiling to what she can achieve next season and beyond. She'll also finish 2023 as the World No. 1 for a second straight season.
This has been a very challenging year for Swiatek, which began tearfully at the United Cup, losing her first match of the season to Pegula. But she bounced spectacularly, winning titles at every tournament level.
She confirmed her absence at this week's Billie Jean King Cup. Despite receiving a wild car and coming under fire at first, her decision makes total sense after the final in Cancun was postponed for 24 hours.
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