If the ATP Tour has Rafael Nadal, the WTA has Iga Natalia Świątek. A swashbuckling talent who has what it takes to be placed alongside the all-time greats, the Polish starlet finished the 2023 season by retaining her year-end World No.1 crown. Swiatek was born on May 31, 2001 in Warsaw. She is a four-time Grand Slam singles champion, having won the US Open in 2022 and the French Open in 2020, 2022, and 2023. In 2020, the 22-year-old became the first Polish athlete, male or female, to win a major title in singles.
In addition to the Majors, she has won 21 titles at the WTA Tour level, including the 2024 Indian Wells, where she defeated Maria Sakkari in straight sets, and the 2024 Madrid Open, where she defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Two weeks later, she repeated her win over the World No. 2 by beating her in the final of the Rome Open 2024.
At the 2024 Miami Open, Swiatek registered her 100th WTA 1000 career win after defeating Camila Giorgi in one hour. She finished semifinalist at the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championship and the 2024 Stuttgart Open. Swiatek entered her 100th week as the world’s No. 1, surpassing Lindsay Davenport and thus acquiring ninth place in the all-time table. Earlier in 2024, the Polish star captured the Qatar TotalEnergies Open trophy, beating Elena Rybakina in the final.
By claiming her maiden Suzanne-Lenglen trophy after winning Roland Garros in 2020, Iga Świątek (aged 19) became the youngest champion at the historic event since the Spanish tennis icon Rafael Nadal in 2005.
Świątek commenced another title defense at the 2023 US Open with decisive wins in the first three rounds. However, she hit a roadblock and lost to then-20th seed Jeļena Ostapenko in Round-4. As a result, she gave up the world No. 1 spot to Aryna Sabalenka, ending her 75-week run at the top. In October 2023, Swiatek conquered third seed and defending US Open champion Coco Gauff in straight sets at the China Open 2023, thus snapping her 16-match winning streak. She went on to win the title, as well as the season-ending WTA Finals.
