One of the stats of the 2023 WTA season showcased Iga Swiatek's unwavering dominance that cemented her spot as the world's top-ranked woman for the second year in a row.
Swiatek won Roland Garros for a third time in June thanks to an epic win over first-time Grand Slam finalist Karolina Muchova in three pulsating sets. She extended her unbeaten streak in Grand Slam finals to 4-0 and is now part of a very exclusive list of players to achieve this feat.
The 22-year-old from Warsaw is just the third WTA player in the Open Era and fourth overall across both tours to win their first four Grand Slams finals. Swiatek has won more French Opens than Maria Sharapova and Martina Navratilova and has drawn level with Serena Williams.
Swiatek joins fellow WTA star Naomi Osaka, who also won her first four Grand Slams, Monica Seles, who won her first six, and retired Swiss legend Roger Federer, who won his first seven. These are the only four players in singles who won at least four or more of their first Grand Slam finals.
In the past 15 years, the Parisian Slam was one of the most unpredictable women's major tournaments, throwing up as many as nine new winners. But since Swiatek arrived on the scene, her grasp on the sport's most demanding surface has been as tight as that of a constrictor.
The Polish star won the first of her four Grand Slams at the 2020 French Open in autumn because the tennis tour was suspended mid-season due to the coronavirus pandemic. She defeated Sofia Kenin to win her first, and then Coco Gauff in 2022.
Still, in 2022, she added her third Grand Slam title at the US Open, beating Tunisia's Ons Jabeur. Her first three finals were all settled in straight sets. When she won the first set against Muchova in the 2023 Roland Garros final, she became the first woman in the Open Era to win the first seven sets she played in Grand Slam finals.
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