Opinion – James Spencer (Twitter – @jspencer28)
When Iga Świątek became the world number one by default after the shock retirement of Ash Barty, many would be forgiven for thinking the lead role was a mere gift to the Pole.
However, the successor to the Australian has illustrated exactly why she is worthy of such a title.
Firstly, at Indian Wells in California, she found herself at the quarter-finals stages when the news about Barty filtered through.
This made her the automatic successor to the three-time Grand Slam champion and before you know it, she had become Poland’s first ever world number one tennis player.
But did she wilt after this milestone? No, she went from strength to strength.
Straight sets wins against Madison Keys, Simona Halep and Maria Sakkari in the final, with none nowhere close to taking a set off the Pole, demonstrated how good Świątek is right now.
If this was the pinnacle for the 20-year-old it would only get better for her in the States.
She would then win the Miami Masters WITHOUT dropping a set, with thumping wins against the likes of talented youngster Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and hard-court specialist Naomi Osaka in the final, including a bagel set to clinch victory.
This wrapped up a rare Sunshine Double, something the sport’s men and women over the years have struggled to accomplish such a feat.
Świątek now looks destined to win multiple Grand Slams, possibly even double figures.
What next?
Currently, the Miami Open champion has been helping her country qualify for November’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
She has continued to look as formidable as ever, with a double bagel 6-0, 6-0 victory over Andreea Prisacariu.
The Pole is now riding high on a 19-match unbeaten streak.
After skipping the WTA 500 in Charleston, US, her next major appearance could either be at the Stuttgart Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, or more likely, at the end of the month at the Madrid Masters.
Świątek will then attempt to build momentum on clay before attempting to regain the French Open title she won 18 months ago, when she first shot to stardom.
How the world no.1 adapts from hard to clay will be interesting to see, but there’s no doubt she’s the player to beat right now.
