Angelique Kerber has not ruled out the possibility of Iga Swiatek being as good as Serena Williams.
Kerber recently played Swiatek at the United Cup in her first tournament back after being away from maternity leave. Swiatek defeated Kerber to secure a crucial win for Team Poland at the time.
Playing the world No. 1 so early into her comeback was always going to be difficult for Kerber. The Pole is also a four-time Grand Slam champion and WTA Finals champion and has been the world No. 1 for a total of 85 weeks.
What makes Swiatek's success remarkable is her age. She is still just 22 years old, yet she already owns a hall-of-fame career. This leads to the tennis world pondering just how much the three-time French Open champion could achieve in her career.
Serena Williams dominated women's tennis for most of the 21st century. She finally hung up her racket after an extraordinary career that saw her win 23 Grand Slams and be ranked world No. 1 for 319 weeks.
Swiatek potentially emulating those achievements is a long way down the road. But speaking in her pre-Australian Open press conference, three-time Grand Slam champion Kerber does not think it is impossible.
"I'm also looking forward how she will go in the next few years, how good she can be in the next few years, like Serena maybe. I mean, we will see."
Kerber also discussed how young Swiatek is, in addition to how different her playing style is to Williams'.
"Serena plays a completely different game to Iga. Of course, Iga plays her best tennis the last few years..... Yeah, I mean she is only 22, 21. She has a lot of years ahead."
Who knows if Swiatek, who is the first world No. 1 not to face Serena since Tracy Austin, will match or surpass Williams. Right now, she will be focused on attempting to win a first Australian Open title.
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