Iga Swiatek's progress to the Indian Wells semifinal has all but guaranteed her to remain as world No. 1 for the entire Sunshine Swing and on the verge of landmark achievement.
In a battle between current and former World No. 1s, it was Swiatek who came out on top over the injured Caroline Wozniacki in Thursday's quarterfinal at the Indian Wells Open. The victory ensures that Swiatek has successfully defended semifinal points from last year at the tournament.
Swiatek's closest rival is Aryna Sabalenka, whose fourth-round defeat to Emma Navarro in California dealt her a major blow in her pursuit of the No. 1 ranking. Sabalenka, who was a finalist last year, dropped 530 points and now owns 8,195 points.
The Pole, for her part, has 10,105 points and can stretch her tally to a high of 10,715 points this week. Because Swiatek is not defending any points in Miami, which begins next week, she will not relinquish her position at the top of the standings this spring.
This week, Swiatek is celebrating her 94th week as World No. 1, the 10th most by a WTA player. She joined the Top 10 club by replacing Wozniacki last year. By the end of the Miami Open, Swiatek will reach 96 weeks.
Some of the women with more weeks at No. 1 include Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Chris Evert, Martina Hingis, and Monica Seles. Swiatek will also move ahead of Lindsay Davenport (98 weeks), who sits in ninth place in this exclusive club.
By reaching the Indian Wells final, Swiatek will virtually confirm her status as a 100-week woman at number one. She is scheduled to play Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in the semifinal. If she falters, then she will seal this milestone in Miami, where she is the top seed.
In the unlikely scenario, Swiatek doesn't add a substantial number of points in Miami, and then she'll reach 100 weeks (on April 22nd) simply because of Sabalenka's absence from the WTA 500 event in Charleston.
The Belarusian hasn't signed up to play there, although she could take a late wild card, which is the only scenario in which she would surpass the Polish player.
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