From Prostejov to world No. 1 in eight years: the rise of Iga Swiatek | ITF
Article 04 Apr 2022

From Prostejov to world No. 1 in eight years: the rise of Iga Swiatek

Ross McLean

04 Apr 2022

Such was the swashbuckling form of Australia’s Ashleigh Barty that only a few short weeks ago any thought of becoming world No. 1 would barely have flickered on Iga Swiatek’s radar.

After all, Barty had collected her third Grand Slam singles title in January, this time on home soil at the Australian Open, and had chalked up more than a century of consecutive weeks at the top of the women’s rankings.

However, through her own scintillating performances, which have seen the prodigiously talented Pole remarkably top the podium at three successive WTA 1000 events – Doha, Indian Wells and Miami – and the shock retirement of Barty, Swiatek now carries the world No. 1 mantle.

Swiatek already knew she would be officially unveiled as world No. 1 today regardless of what happened at last week’s Miami Open, but just for good measure, the 20-year-old posted her 17th straight match-win by beating Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the final.

In hitting the rankings summit, Swiatek is the first player from Poland to reach the No. 1 spot while, across the board, she is the youngest to do since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki more than a decade ago in 2010. Quite an achievement.

“I am really satisfied and proud of myself for reaching the No. 1 spot,” said Swiatek, whose first official outing as world No. 1 will be Poland’s Billie Jean King Cup tie with Romania in Radom, which begins on 15 April.

“I feel like my tennis is going the right way and my goal is to stay at No. 1 and continue what I am doing.”

She also has the blessing of her predecessor. “There is no better person,” said Barty. “She’s an incredible person and a great tennis player. The way she’s brought this fresh, fearless energy onto the court has been incredible.”

That fearlessness would have first come to the attention of most observers when Warsaw-born Swiatek was conquering all before her en route to being crowned women’s singles champion at Roland Garros in October 2020.

In doing so, the then-19-year-old became the first Polish player to be crowned a Grand Slam singles champion and the youngest woman to top the podium in Paris since Monica Seles in 1992. At No. 54, she was also the lowest-ranked champion since the rankings were introduced in 1975.

Swiatek was suddenly box office and hit the headlines on an industrial scale, so much so that in the weeks following her victory she joked that she would have to “learn how to be a celebrity”.

Hot-shot Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, critically acclaimed Polish author Olga Tokarczuk and tennis royalty such as Rod Laver and Chris Evert all passed on their congratulations.

It was a magical period for Swiatek, although there were potential pitfalls. History suggests that fame and the glare of the spotlight has the potential to be dangerous, especially when the recipient of that attention is so young.

Such issues have been brought to the fore in recent years by Osaka and in the aftermath of her Roland Garros triumph, Swiatek revealed in an interview with ITFWorld that the four-time Grand Slam winner had reached out to offer advice and support.

“My life has changed completely,” said Swiatek, who proceded to make her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020. 

“But I think I am dealing with everything pretty well. It is nice to know that you have someone who you can ask but, even though it is a new situation which doesn’t occur very often for Polish people, right now I don’t have any problems.

“For sure, it is hard and stressful at times but fun also. There has been a lot of hype and many people think that when you win a Grand Slam your work is done, and you can rest and be happy.

“But when you win a Grand Slam and are not prepared for a big success it can be hard to handle and I am having to put much more work mentally into this whole process now compared to before.

“I always believed in myself and when I was thinking about winning a Grand Slam, I always thought I would do it when I was about 24 or 25, but never thought I could do it when I was 19.

“There are challenges, and the popularity and attention are new for me, but it is what I have worked for and I am in the position I always wanted to be in. I am working really hard to handle it and, with my team, trying to keep everything cool. I think I am going to be okay.”

Iga Swiatek following her Roland Garros triumph

Swiatek appears to have coped with her success with consummate ease off the court while showing a significant level of consistency on it, the need for which she discussed during the same interview.

“Many women are struggling for consistency and that’s why we have had so many new Grand Slam winners because we are not as consistent as Rafa, Roger and Novak,” said Swiatek, who claimed silverware at Rome and Adelaide in 2021.

“Consistency is my goal. That is going to be hard to achieve, especially at my age, but I know that my team has a plan. I know we have a lot to work on. Even though I have won a Grand Slam, I am not physically in perfect shape and tennis wise I have a lot to learn.

“I am going to keep working and consistency is my priority. I know it is going to be hard to achieve so I am not going to be too hard on myself.”

She also expanded on one particular quotation from Roland Garros. As the mainstream media peppered the latest headline-grabber with 'get to know you' questions, Swiatek revealed that she learnt to play tennis on her PlayStation.

It seems somewhat strange given she has matured into the world’s top-ranked player, but at the time it was a reference that reflected her Generation Z status, which her poise and maturity often defied. That said, she remains only 20 years of age.

“I just played one game sometimes. I am not a gamer and I didn’t play a lot but I remember that when I did play, the next day on court I always wanted to play like the players I was on the game,” added Swiatek, a rock music fan who likes AC/DC and Pink Floyd.

“I always played as Rafa [Nadal] – and on another version as Lindsay Davenport because she is really tall – so maybe that’s why I am a topspin player now and maybe I got used to that by playing video games. Maybe not a big one, but I think it had some influence.”

While Swiatek’s progress has been rapid, she certainly did not appear by magic. Four years ago, she was celebrating a Junior Grand Slam victory at Wimbledon and is rooted in the ITF player pathway.

During her time as a junior, she contested two of the ITF’s flagship junior team tournaments, initially cutting her teeth in the 14-and-under team competition at the 2014 ITF World Junior Tennis Finals in Prostejov.

Two years later, Swiatek was the star of her nation’s Junior Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas campaign as Poland went the distance and defeated the United States to stand aloft as the best 16-and-under girls’ team on the planet.

A gold medal in doubles at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires followed as did ITF World Tennis Tour success once she graduated to the professional ranks.

Her most recent ITF World Tennis Tour triumph came in a $60,000 event at Montreux in September 2018, which proved her final professional title before lifting silverware at Roland Garros. In short, Swiatek laid solid foundations for what she has since achieved.

“From the age of 12 I started travelling to Europe to play championships and team events,” she said. “I got the chance to play with players from different countries and see the difference between me and others.

“I developed my game really well in those tournaments and during those years, and there is huge pride for me having played those competitions.

“If I was to advise the younger players playing those tournaments in the coming years, I would say they shouldn’t be too hard on themselves and should just enjoy them.

“It’s good to look at their life from a different perspective and do the things they love. They should travel because not everyone can do that, and it would be great if they could surround themselves with really supportive people.”

Swiatek seems to have done exactly that and whatever happens from here, nobody will ever be able to wrestle away the fact she once became the world’s top-ranked player. Good luck, Iga.

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