Iga Swiatek matched a feat last achieved by Serena Williams after winning the 2024 Qatar Open title. The World No. 1 claimed her first trophy of the season on Saturday by defeating former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 7-6(8), 6-2.
This marked the Polish player’s third consecutive win at the Middle Eastern event, and she has not dropped a set there since 2022. Her latest win at the WTA 1000 tournament saw her become the first player since Williams to win an event three years running.
In 2015, 23-time major winner Williams defeated Spain’s Carla Suárez Navarro to claim her third successive crown at the Miami Open.
Following Swiatek’s latest accomplishment, she is putting the rest of the field on notice as she aims for more success in 2024. She warned her rivals she is looking to utilise that experience in the rest of the season with the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open still lying ahead.
“I’m happy that I kept working and just didn’t really think about too many stuff during this week and just focused on the right things, because I think it was the key,” the French Open champion said during the trophy ceremony. “Coming here and being kind of the double-defending champion wasn’t easy.
“So I’m happy that I have this experience already, and hopefully, I’m going to use it.” Commenting on managing the pressure and expectation of completing a three-peat in Doha, Swiatek added: “You don’t even know how hard it was not to think about it.
