It may seem an outlandish comment, but in some ways, Iga Swiatek’s 2023 season outshone her dominant 2022 campaign.
Last year, Swiatek wrested control of the tour in building a 37-match winning streak and winning eight titles, including two Grand Slam trophies.
But in a season in which there was enormous pressure to back up her 2022 performances – while facing increasingly improved opposition – Swiatek once again claimed the coveted year-end top spot.
Her thumping 6-1 6-0 win over Jessica Pegula in Cancun on Monday – the most lopsided final in the 51-year history of the WTA Finals – was her 68th match win of the season, one more than in 2022. And it was her 23rd 6-0 set of the year, again one more than 2022.
With her first title at the prestigious season-ending event, Swiatek reclaimed the No.1 ranking she’d briefly surrendered to Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka – something she described as “a dream come true”.
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“I would say I wasn’t expecting that right now this season; I was kind of hoping that maybe next year is going to be be my year,” the Polish star smiled.
“Because 2022 was so amazing, that I don’t know if it’s going to be possible for me to repeat a season like that. I didn’t feel at the end like I’m in the shadow (of that season) any more, because I knew that I’m having another great season.
“Honestly I kind of accepted that I’m not going to have a season like that like in 2022, and I just kind of looked forward. So for sure since Beijing, I started feeling a little bit more free.”
Swiatek admitted the No.1 ranking played on her mind, especially at the US Open, where Sabalenka was closing in on the position Swiatek had held for 75 straight weeks.
She was then outplayed by Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round in New York, and Sabalenka advanced to the final, results which meant Sabalenka replaced her at the top.
JELENA OSTAPENKO: Iga Swiatek's kryptonite
Yet as Swiatek alluded to in Cancun, this actually served as a tension release.
No longer was she focused on defending points, maintaining her position on top, and holding off the chasing pack.
She could focus on other things, and in the past few months, she has. We’ve seen her progressively hone her return stance, enjoy more success with counterpunching, and restore some variety to her game.
She’s gone from strength to strength; since falling behind against Caroline Garcia in the China Open quarterfinals, she has won 16 consecutive sets.
“It seems like just working hard and focusing on the right things at the end worked, so I’m really happy,” said Swiatek, now unbeaten in her past 11 matches.
In Cancun, amid some of the most challenging weather conditions ever seen in the sport, that meant focusing on her footwork and her shots to navigate the gusty winds.
This caught the eye of former world No.1 Andy Roddick, who was glowing in his assessment of Swiatek during an interview with Tennis Channel.
“I don’t know anyone on tour who has better footwork, especially those little steps, preparing for balls in the middle that might shift around (in the wind), than Iga Swiatek,” Roddick said.
“I find myself watching her sometimes, I ignore the actual point that’s going on, and just watch her footwork and those mini circle Cs to get the forehands.
“It’s just perfect. The way that she moves from the middle of the court is just perfect.”
Roddick’s comments came in previewing the blockbuster WTA Finals semifinal between Swiatek and Sabalenka, crucial to the year-end No.1 ranking outcome. A win for Sabalenka would have seen her claim it, while a win for Swiatek would have kept her in contention – provided she went on to win the title.
No pressure, right?
Swiatek admitted she was aware of this scenario, but her shift in focus “kept me busy from thinking about all of that”.
She then produced one of her finest performances of the season to dismantle Sabalenka, before thrashing Pegula in the final.
Swiatek conceded just 20 games in winning the WTA Finals title, the fewest since the round-robin format was introduced 20 years earlier.
Those wins over Sabalenka and Pegula were her 12th and 13th wins over top-10 players, after 15 top-10 wins in 2022. She is the first player since Serena Williams (2013-2014) to complete consecutive seasons with 10 or more victories over top-10 opponents.
You have to go back to Steffi Graf and Monica Seles in the early 1990s to find a player who has won 20+ 6-0 sets in back-to-back seasons like Swiatek.
Swiatek ends her season with titles in all tournament categories. A 250 win on home soil in Warsaw, 500-level titles in Doha and Stuttgart, the WTA 1000 crown in Beijing, the year-end championships in Cancun, and a Grand Slam title at Roland Garros – her fourth major trophy.
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It means she is a staggering 17-4 in career finals; you have to go back even further, to Chris Evert, to find a woman in the Open Era who won 17 of her first 21 tournament finals.
Symbolically, Evert – the first ever WTA No.1 – presented the WTA Finals trophy in Cancun to Swiatek, the incoming No.1.
It was reported more than 600,000 people in Poland tuned in to watch Swiatek’s win over Pegula in the final, especially notable given the match was broadcast on a cable network.
Swiatek took to social media after her WTA Finals victory and acknowledged her rivals had pushed her to greater heights in 2023.
It sets the stage brilliantly for more heavyweight battles at the top – perhaps as soon as Australian Open 2024 – as elite players such as Sabalenka, Pegula and others seek to reel her back in next year.
“I want to thank the amazing women I compete with on tour. Thanks to you, I constantly want to be a better player,” Swiatek wrote.
“The best things happen to us when we stop chasing them.”