Swiatek Joins Illustrious List Of Former WTA No. 1s To Record 100 Match Wins

Friday, 05 January 2024 at 06:20

byNurein Ahmed

Iga Swiatek joined an illustrious list of former WTA World No. 1s who scored at least three-digit match wins during their reign at the top of the rankings.

The Pole is the ninth woman ranked as a World No. 1 to score 100 wins at tour level, following her comprehensive straight sets win over China's Qinwen Zheng at the United Cup. The victory propelled her country into the semifinal of the mixed-gender team tournament.

Poland, who entered this year's competition as the odds-on favorites thanks to the exploits of Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz, are two ties away from winning the tournament. They face France in the semis on Saturday at the Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney.

Swiatek, who has yet to lose a match in 2024, has now forged a 14-match winning streak in singles dating back to last year's China Open. She has expanded this exclusive centurion club, which includes WTA legends like Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, and Serena Williams.

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The 22-year-old is now in her second stint as World No. 1 after reclaiming her throne from Aryna Sabalenka at the back end of last season, sweeping titles in Beijing and Cancun - the latter being her first year-end championships.

Remarkably, Swiatek has lost just one set in her current 14-match unbeaten run, which came against Garcia at the China Open last year. She came within a tiebreak from losing that encounter and is slated to meet France's top-ranked woman at the United Cup this weekend.

The Polish star is unlikely to lose her World No. 1 ranking at the end of January and has recently downplayed expectations ahead of the Australian Open, which kicks on January 14th.

Swiatek is considered the colossal favorite to win the Melbourne Slam for the first time in her career, and she could be heading there as a United Cup champion.