Five records Iga Swiatek created as a WTA World No. 1

The Polish star has won a total of 15 WTA tour titles so far

When Iga Swiatek captured the coveted top ranking on the WTA single rankings in April 2022, she became the WTA tour’s 28th World No. 1, and the youngest player to debut at No. 1 since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Swiatek was only 21 at that time and has held the top spot since.

Few women have enjoyed an inaugural run as Iga Swiatek has on top of the WTA rankings. She recently fell off her perch when she lost in the fourth round of the ongoing US Open to Jelena Ostapenko after 75 long weeks. Let us look back on the 22-year-old Polish star’s remarkable run as World No. 1

Held top spot for 75 consecutive weeks

Swiatek held on to the World No. 1 ranking for 75 consecutive weeks. Even more impressive is the fact that she has achieved this feat in her first stint on top of the WTA rankings. This also places her on an exclusive list, as since 2000, only Serena Williams and Ashleigh Barty have spent more consecutive weeks at the top with 186 and 114 respectively. 

Joint longest winning streak since 1990

In 2022, Swiatek had a long 37-match winning streak, tying her with Martina Hingis for the longest winning streak since 1997 and joint longest win streak since 1990. The Polish star also won eight singles titles, including Grand Slam wins at Roland-Garros and US Open. Her other titles came at the WTA tournaments at Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome and San Diego.

Youngest woman to win at three majors since 2008

Iga Swiatek is the youngest female player since 2008 to taste victory at three majors and the first Polish woman to win the US Open. Swiatek is just the ninth player in the Open era to win three Grand Slam titles before turning 22, joining Maria Sharapova, Justine Henin, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Martina Hingis, Monica Sales, Steffi Graf, and Chris Evert.

She is also the fourth active player to have won three or more Grand Slams after Venus Williams(7), Naomi Osaka(4), and Angelique Kerber(3). 

Second most year-ending ranking points

Swiatek wound up her 2022 season at No. 1 with an astounding 11,085 points, over 6,000 points clear of second-ranked Ons Jabeur. Serena Williams is the only player with more points to her name at the end of a season, with 13,260 points during her 2013 campaign. 

Fifth-highest on single-season prize money earners list

Iga Swiatek’s earnings of $9,875,525 in prize money in 2022 places her at No. 5 on the list of single-season prize money winners. The others on this select list are:

1. Serena Williams: $12,385,572 (2013)

2. Ashleigh Barty: $11,307,587 (2019)

3. Serena Williams: $10,582,642 (2015)

4. Angelique Kerber: $10,136,615 (2016)