Iga Swiatek believes she and some of her peers have proven that there is consistency in women’s tennis despite criticism from some.
The world No.1 is currently playing at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix which she is bidding to win for a third consecutive year. Since February 2022, Swiatek has won 16 WTA titles with three of them being at Grand Slam tournaments. During this period, she has only spent eight weeks not at the top of the WTA rankings after briefly getting overtaken by Aryna Sabalenka. Two years ago she won 37 matches in a row before her run ended at Wimbledon.
Given her success, Swiatek says she already feels like a dominant force on the Tour when recently asked by a reporter if she was ready to do so. However, she admits that there is still room for improvement in her game.
“Well, the question is if I already did that for the past two years,” the Pole said after beating Elise Mertens 6-3, 6-4, in Stuttgart.
“Because I feel like I have been pretty dominant, and also Aryna [Sabalenka] has been, so we both kind of have shown that there is consistency on WTA.
“I remember when I was playing in 2020, 2021, I also got many questions about consistency, and I felt like some players, you know, have proven that it’s possible. So I already feel like I have been pretty dominant.
“But we’ll see what next years are going to bring. There have been players that have been dominating throughout their whole careers, you know, and I’m still at the beginning.
“There is still so much work to do.”
Swiatek is currently 23-3 on the Tour this season with her losses being to Ekaterina Alexandrova, Anna Kalinskaya and Linda Nosková. In Stuttgart, she will play a resurgent Emma Raducanu in the quarter-finals on Friday. The Brit has dropped just eight games in her two previous matches against Angelique Kerber and Noskova.
“She seems like she’s getting her game back together, so it’s great to see that because for sure she has potential,” Swiatek said of Raducanu.
“It’s not going to be easy. She knows how to spin the ball and how to move on clay, as well.”
Swiatek is bidding to become the first player since Maria Sharapova to win the Stuttgart title three years in a row. Regardless of whether she manages to achieve the milestone, on Monday she will start her 100th week as world No.1.
