Iga Swiatek once again proved to be a dominant force in 2023, but her reign was seriously challenged and will be challenged again in 2024.
2022 was a spectacular year for Iga Swiatek who played amazing tennis all year long. 2023 was, in many ways, a more impressive year because she overcame quite a few obstacles and still came out on top despite several players improving their level.
A similar challenge awaits her in 2024 as several players are looking to step up even further, and that's very exciting news for all tennis fans, who are closely following the WTA Tour.
The usual suspects of ARyna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula will always be a problem, but other players like Marketa Vondrousova and Karolina Muchova had tremendous years in 2023.
Analyzing what Swiatek might face in 2024, Eurosport analyst Barbara Schett picked Sabalenka and Rybakina as the biggest challenges.
I think on the hard courts, it has to be somebody who hits the ball extremely hard, who has a lot of pace, who can put her (Swiatek) under pressure and have a big service. That is a [Elena] Rybakina, that is a Sabalenka.
While those two seem like the obvious pick because they already gave her trouble in the past, players like Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula are also in the mix. Both bested Swiatek at different times in 2023, so they're certainly capable, as is Ons Jabeur.
That has to be Coco Gauff. I would throw [Jessica] Pegula in the mix as we'll see how she's going to play, but she's capable of doing that. Maybe [Karolina] Muchova is somebody who can do that, who can also maybe mix it up a little bit but has a bit more pace than Ons Jabeur. Yeah, I think those players I've mentioned are going to be the biggest rivals. But if I had to choose one, I think it would be Sabalenka.
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