Iga Świątek seals world No. 1 spot, becoming first Pole to top tennis rankings

Mar 26, 2022 | Culture, Society

Iga Świątek will become the new world number one women’s tennis player after her victory over Viktorija Golubic at the Miami Open last night. The 20-year-old is the first ever Polish singles player, male or female, to hold top spot.

After the current top-ranked player, Australia’s Ashleigh Barty, dramatically retired this week at the age of 25, the number one spot was up for grabs. Świątek – who has been on an impressive run of form this year and was second in the rankings – was the clear frontrunner.

If she won in her opening match at Miami, it would guarantee that, when the next update of the rankings takes place on 4 April, she would be in top spot. Świątek then cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 over Golubic of Switzerland.

“I am really satisfied and proud of myself for reaching the No. 1 spot,” said Świątek after the game. “I feel like my tennis is going the right way and my goal is to stay at No. 1 and continue what I am doing.”

Earlier this week, Barty had tipped Świątek as a worthy successor, saying that “there is no better person” to take her mantle. “She’s an incredible person, a great tennis player. The way that she’s brought this fresh, fearless energy onto the court has been incredible.”

Świątek, who won the Wimbledon junior singles championship in 2018, has long been tipped for stardom. But success at senior level came even earlier than most expected, when she won the 2020 French Open at the age of 19, becoming Poland’s first ever Grand Slam singles champion.

She has steadily climbed the rankings since then, and this week, following back-to-back WTA 1000 titles in Qatar and Indian Wells, reached a career-high ranking of No. 2.

Barty’s retirement did not automatically grant Świątek the first-place position. But the Australian then confirmed that she had requested her name be removed from the rankings list and her points wiped from the system at the start of the next ranking cycle.

That opened the way for either Świątek or Spain’s Paula Badosa to take the top spot. However, it would have taken a very unlikely set of results in Miami for Badosa to do so: Świątek getting knocked out in her first match and the Spaniard winning the tournament.

Prior to the tournament, a reporter asked Świątek about her motivations to become number one. “Well, it’s not like I wanted to be world number one because Ash [Barty] or any other player is retiring,” Świątek said, “I always wanted to you know…I don’t honestly know how to answer that. I have many reasons to be number one.”

Other than Świątek, the highest-ranked Polish singles tennis player was Agnieszka Radwańska, who made it to world number two in 2012. In doubles, however, Poland’s Łukasz Kubot was ranked number one for men’s doubles in 2018.

Radwańska has been a vocal supporter of Świątek and Kubot has teamed up with her in doubles, with the pair representing Poland together at last year’s Tokyo Olympics.

Off the court, Świątek is also known to champion issues that are important to her. During her Indian Wells victory speech, she called for more support for Ukraine, and she has famously travelled to events along with her sports psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, promoting the importance of mental health.

When asked about Abramowicz’s role by reporters, Świątek stated, “I just believe that mental toughness is probably the most important thing in tennis right now because everybody can play on the highest level, but the ones that are tough and that can handle the pressure are the biggest ones”.

Światek will look to solidify her number one ranking as the season continues, with a busy schedule to come including three grand slam tournaments at the French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open.

Main image credit: Kuba Atys / Agencja Gazeta

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