Iga Swiatek will have to be careful at the 2024 US Open

Despite not being as dominant as the American legend Serena Williams, I’m going to Swiatek is certainly the most brilliant and consistent player of recent years. The Polish player plays her best tennis on red clay, as evidenced by her excellent results on the Roland Garrosbut she is learning to adapt to all surfaces and is still very young.

The world number 1 has played a huge French Open 2024 and is much better than his opponents on red clay. Iga did not exactly shine at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships and especially in 2024 Olympic Games in Pariswhere she was the big favorite to win the gold medal. Swiatek could not handle the pressure and nerves well, went to the semi-finals and burst into tears in front of reporters right after the matchThanks to the help of his team, Iga Swiatek overcame that disappointment and won a valuable bronze medal.

The Polish champion had a very difficult time in Cincinnati last week, she made many unforced mistakes in all her matches and risked elimination several times. Her run in Ohio was stopped in the semifinal against Aryna Sabalenkawho has exploited her properties to achieve a great victory with a view to the US Open. Iga will have to perform 100% if she wants to win the title in New York, a tall order considering the level her opponents have shown in recent weeks.

Iga can still improve

Iga Swiatek has been the iconic face of the WTA tour for a number of years, especially after the shock retirement of As BartyIga Swiatek’s run at the Cincinnati Masters 1000 was abruptly interrupted in the semifinals when the Polish tennis star faced a dominant version of Aryna Sabalenka, who crushed her rival with a double 6-3 and qualified for the final act of the American tournament.

A revenge for the Belarusian, after two defeats on earth against the 23-year-old from Warsaw in the finals of Madrid and Rome. Despite the defeat, Swiatek nevertheless firmly maintains the first position on the WTA rankings, with which she reaches an important milestone that already brings her into the elite of women’s tennis.

The Polish tennis player started on Monday the 117th as the world number onewhich put Justine Henin in eighth place in the overall ranking of women’s tennis players who have stayed in the WTA rankings the longest. The next champion in the four-time slam champion’s sights is Ashleigh Barty, retired at 26 with 121 weeks of being the world number one. Further away are Monica Seles (178) and Martina Hingis (208). At the top of this special ranking is a seemingly unreachable Steffi Graf (377), followed by Martina Navratilova (332), Serena Williams (319) and Chris Evert (260).

Swiatek, who has topped the WTA rankings for 41 consecutive weeks, has a lead of more than 2,000 points over her top-ranked rival, Aryna Sabalenka, and almost 4,000 points over Coco GauffThe impression is that, barring sudden stops by the Polish or major wires from her direct opponents, the first place in the rankings will remain firmly in his hands for many weeks to come.

Swiatek is very introverted

Despite having achieved many victories in her young career, Iga still has the same personality and is not the center of attention.I’ve reached the level where I know tennis isn’t played for rankings. And when I go out on the court, I can concentrate on improving my strokes and consider the ranking points only as the result of this work. Of course, it is easier to do this when you are at the top, because it is probably a little different when you are in trouble and the outcome of each tournament determines, for example, the budget for coaches and trips to the next tournaments. I am aware that I am in a privileged position,” Światek said in a recent interview.

The Polish champion also drew a parallel with the Spanish ace Carlitos Alcaraz: “Carlos Alcaraz has a very different character than me, he travels with many people to tournaments, enjoys life, has fun and celebrates successes in a very different way. For me it is more important to have peace around me, to take care of simple pleasures and to spend time with my loved ones. I am an introvertand if I did more, I would feel very tired.”

Swiatek has become a more complete player over the years and has not yet reached her best level. The Polish star always said that 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafa Nadal is her biggest idol and that she is inspired by him, both on and off the tennis court.