Iga Swiatek didn't have the type of year she had in 2022, but she did well enough to finish the year as world number one on the WTA Tour.
The season was very challenging as she faced a lot of players who were playing the best tennis they had ever played. Aryna Sabalenka never played as well as she did this year; neither did Elena Rybakina.
Coco Gauff found her tennis in the second half of the year, and it made everything tougher. Events where she traditionally dominated, such as the Roland Garros, proved quite challenging to win, but she won it.
It took a lot of adjusting and growing, and she endured all of that to ultimately become an even better version of herself on the court. Tennis.com's Tracy Austin was amazed by what she saw this year.
It was fascinating to watch Iga Swiatek this year. At Roland Garros, she won her fourth major. Following that loss in New York, Iga was no longer ranked No. 1, after having held that spot for 75 weeks.
Losing the number one spot actually came as a relief to Swiatek, who even admitted it. It allowed her to refocus on what truly matters, which is working hard and forgetting about the records. According to Austin, one moment sticks out - a match in Beijing.
Then there came a match I’ll call a two-minute turnaround. In October, Iga played the dangerous Caroline Garcia in the quarterfinals of Beijing. Iga lost the first set 7-6 (8) and then barely won the second in another tiebreaker, 7-6 (5). That narrow margin flipped her switch.
She would win that match and the event and ultimately win the WTA Finals as well. All of that allowed her to finish as number one, the rightful number next to her.
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