On Monday, the WTA rankings were updated and Iga Świątek officially moved into the number one spot.
Following the retirement of Ashleigh Barty, the Polish star had the room to make the step up from her previous number two ranking.
However, tennis legend Chris Evert believes Świątek would have usurped the Australian even if she hadn’t hung up her racquet last month.
With her new number one status, Świątek is the only Polish player, man or woman, in history to reach the top of the world rankings.
At just 20 years of age, she has made sporting history on numerous occasions. Last weekend, the Pole beat Naomi Osaka to win the Miami Open, securing her third consecutive title of the year.
Her triumph made her just the fourth woman to ever win the rare ‘Sunshine Double’ — the Indian Wells and Miami Open title in the same year. Świątek is also the first ever woman to win the first three WTA 1000 titles in the tennis calendar.
As the former French Open champion, Świątek is also no stranger to Grand Slam success. With Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open still to come this year, the new world number one will undoubtedly be favoured to win another Slam.
Evert recently lauded the 20-year-old and admitted she had predicted it was just a matter of time before she reached number one in the world.
“I always have thought that to put together seven matches in a Grand Slam was really hard, to be at a high level, but she’s put together 16 [now 17],” she told Eurosport.
To put together 16 matches in a row with this field, with this depth and not having a real dip, not having a let-down, is almost unheard of in the women’s game. And that’s what makes her so special, and that’s what makes her the number one player in the world
The 18-time Grand Slam champion praised Świątek’s hunger to constantly improve her game to challenge the best in the world, until she herself became the best.
Evert also applauded Swiatek’s frame of mind and stated that her mental strength is “propelling her to the top.”
“She’s mentally the toughest player out there by far right now, she’s on another level.
“I think even if Ashleigh Barty hadn’t retired, Iga would have reached the number one spot.”
Another key part of the Pole’s game is her confidence — despite being one of the youngest players in the top 50, Świątek knows how to capitalise on her run of strong form.
“I want to use the confidence that I built since the beginning of Doha,” she said. “I’m on a roll and I want to use that.”
