The legacy of Iga Swiatek continues to grow as she rewrites the history books at will. The four-time singles Grand Slam champion recently completed her 100th week as World No. 1. The feat has been achieved by only nine players in the history of the WTA Tour, and Pole is one of them.
Following the sudden retirement of Ash Barty, Swiatek made the best use of the situation and became World No. 1 for the first time. She then held on to the spot for 75 consecutive weeks, from April 4, 2022, to September 10, 2023.
Although Aryna Sabalenka managed to replace her, her stay at the top lasted only eight weeks. The Pole reclaimed the top spot by winning the WTA Finals and securing the year-end no. 1. Since then, it has now been 25 weeks and counting as she remains unmoved from the top, earning praise from legends of the sport.
Among the nine women to achieve the feat, Monica Seles and Barty are also two of them. Both of them sent out their wishes to the 22-year-old on completing her hundredth week at the top.
Congratulations Iga on an incredible achievement of 100 weeks as the number one player in the world of tennis! Your dedication and hard work have truly paid off. Keep inspiring us with your amazing talent on the court! Said Monica Seles as per the WTA site.
Barty has kept a low profile in tennis circles ever since her retirement. As she remains busy with her mom duties, she still finds time to send her greetings across to Swiatek, who deservedly became her successor on the Tour.
One-hundred weeks at No.1 is a huge achievement in any era. Congratulations to Iga. I’m so happy for her and have loved watching her hard work pay off. Said Ash Barty as per the WTA site.
Iga Swiatek becomes the fourth-fastest player to complete 100 weeks as World No. 1
Swiatek has shown unreal consistency in the past couple of seasons. Since she got to the top of the rankings, she’s looked more confident than under the pressure of being the top-ranked player. With the entire Tour looking to take her down, she has managed to hold her end quite well.
The former US Open champ is now the fourth fastest player to complete 100 weeks as World No. 1. She’s taken 749 days to achieve the feat since she became World No. 1 for the first time. Steffi Graf (693 days), Chris Evert (707 days), and Seles (721 days) are the only ones quicker than Swiatek.
The Pole is also the fifth-youngest player to achieve the feat. Martina Hingis (18 years, 264 days), Seles (19 years, 89 days), Graf (20 years, 20 days), and Evert (22 years, 293 days) are the ones ahead of Swiatek, who achieved the feat at the age of 22 years and 326 days.
Currently, Swiatek leads the rankings with 10,560 points to her name. She has a monumental lead of 2712 points over World No. 2 Sabalenka.
The gap further widens to 3302 points when compared to World No. 3 Coco Gauff. This just confirms it will be a while before the Pole is replaced from the pole position in the rankings.
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