Today marks a very special day for Iga Swiatek as the 23-year-old is surpassing Ashleigh Barty at No. 7 on the all-time list for the most weeks spent at the world No. 1 position after entering her 122nd week at the top spot.
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On April 4th, 2022 - just less than two weeks after the Australian announced her shock retirement from tennis - the Pole reached the highest possible ranking for the first time in her career.
Since then, there have only been eight weeks during which the five-time Grand Slam wasn't the top-ranked player in the game. It happened in late 2023, when Aryna Sabalenka reigned at the top for a total of eight weeks.
In her first stint, Swiatek spent 75 consecutive weeks at No. 1. Now, she is another major streak after spending the last 47 weeks at the top spot.
Next on the list to beat is Monica Seles, who was the top-ranked player for a total of 178 weeks.
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Swiatek became the No. 1 in stunning circumstances but she deserved it
At the time of her retirement, Barty was just 25 and comfortably sitting on the very top of the WTA rankings list.
Meanwhile, the Pole had just reached the world No. 2 spot for the first time in her career. But instead of focusing on chasing the former three-time Grand Slam champion, Swiatek learned that she would be the next No. 1 after 2022 Miami.
"I didn't fully understand what had happened. Ash was the undisputed leader, she played the best tennis - even though I knew where she would hit, it was still difficult to cope with her shot. At first, her departure was an abstraction to me. I felt it as a great loss for the sport. I have great respect for her. Besides, I had an idea what the end of her career would mean for me. "I was number two for just a few days, and suddenly there was an opportunity to move to the top of the rankings. It hit me hard because I never thought such a scenario would be possible," the 23-year-old told Polish media last year.
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Swiatek may have become the world No. 1 in a bit weird circumstances but she has definitely proved since that she deserves to be where she is now.
