Iga Swiatek. Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Iga Swiatek joins exclusive club of tennis greats

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Aug 30, 2024 11:44 AM ET

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek has been a model of consistency over the past few years. On Thursday, the Pole crushed Ena Shibahara 6-0, 6-1 to punch her ticket into the third round of the 2024 US Open.

As a result, she became only the fifth player in the Open Era to reach the third round for 19 consecutive major tournaments, joining the legendary quartet of Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez.

5 - Iga Swiatek is the fifth player in the Open Era to reach the Round of 32 for 19+ consecutive Women’s Singles Grand Slam tournaments, after Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez. Moving. #USOpen | @usopen @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/s06zAwk1nD
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) August 29, 2024

That's not all — the 23-year-old became the youngest player to win 20 of her first 22 second-round matches across all slams. Swiatek's only first-round loss came at the 2019 Wimbledon as an 18-year-old.

20 - Iga Swiatek is the youngest player to win 20 of their first 22 second round appearances in Women’s Singles Grand Slam since Victoria Azarenka in 2012 who won 21 of her first 22 second round appearances. Triumph. #USOpen | @usopen @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/7ikiKfnyOL
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) August 29, 2024

The five-time major winner has also been a dominant force in her young career. Her 6-0, 6-1 win on Thursday marked the seventh time she had won a set without losing a game at a major. Only three other legends achieved the feat during their first 22 matches at major events.

7 - Only three players (Margaret Court - 11, Maria Sharapova - 8, Evonne Goolagong - 8) have registered more sets of 6-0 score line from their first 22 matches in Women's Singles at US Open than Iga Swiatek (7) during the Open Era. Crush. #USOpen | @usopen @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/oBJydd2CUE
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) August 29, 2024

Swiatek will next face Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the fourth round on Saturday. The 2022 US Open winner is trying to go farther than last year when she suffered a fourth-round loss to Jeļena Ostapenko. The Pole is eyeing her second major of the year following her French Open victory.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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