Iga Swiatek has proven her mettle despite being a surprise World No. 1 says John McEnroe as he analyses the Pole’s dominance
Iga Swiatek became the World No. 1 back on 4th April 2022 and has maintained her position since then.
Follow Us
John McEnroe (L), Iga Swiatek (R) (Sources: IMDB, The Guardian)
Former American tennis player John McEnroe said in a recent interview that current World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will be under tremendous pressure in the upcoming US Open. He also went on to say that although the Pole was a surprise World No. 1 as Ash Barty retired suddenly, she has proven her mettle with her consistent performances.
However, Iga Swiatek’s consistency has come to a standstill in the past few weeks. Ahead of the US Open, she suffered some big losses against well-known players like Jessica Pegula in the Montreal Open and Coco Gauff in the Cincinnati Open. Thus, her place at the top of the rankings might be at risk. Moreover, being the defending champion at the US Open, all the spotlight and pressure will be on her.
John McEnroe talked about why dominance at the top is very hard to maintain. “You saw three male players share everything. Rafa, Novak, and Roger This whole situation was unusual from the beginning because Ash Barty retired and all of a sudden Swiatek was anointed No. 1,” he said.
“She did an incredible job for a while and then she proved she could win on hard court surfaces. Now obviously there is a lot more expected and more pressure. For the most part she’s done a great job. The fact that she is No. 1 obviously with other players it would be a huge win to beat her,” he added.
Iga Swiatek’s World No. 1 spot is under threat of being replaced by Aryna Sabalenka
After becoming the World No. 1 after Ash Barty’s surprise retirement, Iga Swiatek has maintained her spot for 73 consecutive weeks now. Since then, she has won three Grand Slams, including the French Open of 2022 and 2023 and the 2022 US Open. However, it seems like she is a bit out of form lately, and that is something World No. 2, who is breathing on Iga’s shoulders, can capitalize upon.
Although Aryna Sabalenka has won only one Grand Slam in that same time span, i.e., the Australian Open 2022, she might become World No. 1 if Iga Swiatek continues to fumble. She can replace Iga if she qualifies for the final of the upcoming US Open.
Being the first and second seeds, respectively, Iga and Sabalenka can meet each other only in the US Open 2023 final. Thus, Aryna Sabalenka becoming World No. 1 has a lot of ‘ifs’ and depends on a lot of factors. However, there is a good possibility of that happening, and Iga Swiatek needs to buck up.
In case you missed it:
- Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz have the backing of Chris Evert to make a deep run at the 2023 US Open as the former champ talks of advantage of the ‘Home Slam’
- Pam Shriver picks Sloane Stephens as her dark horse for the upcoming US Open as she lauds the former champ for being a leader of the Tour
Stay Updated!
Rishab Dutta
(794 Articles Published)