Iga Swiatek equals huge ranking record as she overtakes Ash Barty for most weeks at World No. 1
Iga Swiatek has entered the 121st week as the World No. 1, equalling Ashleigh Barty's record of most weeks at the top of the rankings.
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Iga Swiatek (Image via X)
Despite not winning the US Open, Australian Open, or the Wimbledon Championships this year, Iga Swiatek continues her reign as the World No. 1. The 23-year-old entered the 121st week as the top-ranked player on the women’s tour, tying Ashleigh Barty for seventh-most weeks at World No. 1 in WTA history.
Swiatek is set to surpass Barty next week as the Pole is way ahead of World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka. While Sabalenka has 8,716 ranking points, Swiatek has a whopping 10,885 ranking points to her name. That said, she leads the Belarusian by only 409 points in the year-to-date standings.
With Swiatek entering the 121st week as the World No. 1, she is now only behind Steffi Graf (377), Martina Navratilova (332), Serena Williams (319), Chris Evert (260), Martina Hingis (209) and Monica Seles (178). While the Pole will soon surpass Barty, it will take her some time to equal Seles.
Iga Swiatek to stay away from tennis for a while
While Iga Swiatek continues dominating the WTA rankings, she has been struggling to manage her schedule. She was set to play at the Korea Open before the Pole pulled out citing fatigue.
My physical condition has not yet returned to normal since the US Open. I cannot go to Seoul. Please understand that I have no choice but to change my schedule. I definitely want to visit Seoul next year and play a great match in front of Korean fans.Iga Swiatek said (H/T: Tennis Korea)
Swiatek suffered a fourth-round exit at the US Open following defeat to Jessica Pegula. Before the US Open, she played in the Paris Olympics where she won the singles bronze medal. Sports psychologist Dariusz Nowicki has opined that Swiatek might be suffering from burnout.
Iga is very overloaded and sooner or later, hopefully as late as possible, she will experience burnout syndrome. Whether it will turn into depression or will it end only with a period of fatigue and a return to sports , I don't know, but I'm afraid that such a dark scenario is hanging in the air.Dariusz Nowicki said after Iga Swiatek’s Paris Olympics campaign (H/T: sport.pl)
It is worth mentioning that Swiatek has expressed her reservations quite a few times about the jam-packed scheduling on the WTA tour. She even urged the authorities to reduce the number of mandatory events for players.
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Ritesh Pathak
(2150 Articles Published)