10 incredible things Iga Swiatek achieved in Miami this year

From securing No. 1 to extending her winning streak to 17 matches in a row and becoming the youngest woman ever to complete the Sunshine Double, it’s been an historic two weeks for the 20-year-old Polish trailblazer.

ByJohn Berkok

Published Apr 02, 2022

MATCH POINT: I. Swiatek def. N. Osaka; Miami F

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From her first match to her last, Iga Swiatek has been making history all tournament long in Miami—here are just 10 of the things she achieved at the WTA 1000 event.

She secured No. 1 by winning her opening match… and then went all the way to the title too. Her 6-2, 6-0 victory over Viktorija Golubic last Friday night made sure that on April 4th, the Monday after the tournament, Swiatek would rise to No. 1 on the WTA rankings, not only becoming the first player from Poland to become No. 1 in either ATP or WTA rankings history, but also the first player born in the 2000s to achieve the feat.

She’s now won her last 17 matches in a row. That includes 5-0 to win the WTA 1000 in Doha, 6-0 to win the WTA 1000 in Indian Wells and now 6-0 to win the WTA 1000 in Miami. It’s the longest WTA winning streak since Naomi Osaka won 23 matches in a row from the tour restart in August 2020 until Miami in March 2021.

She’s also won her last 20 sets in a row. Swiatek hasn’t lost a set since dropping the first set to Angelique Kerber in the fourth round of Indian Wells—she won that one, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, and has now won nine matches in a row in straight sets since.

Her last 15 sets haven’t even gone to a tie-break. That stretch dates back to the first set of her 7-6 (6), 6-4 victory over Simona Halep in the semifinals of Indian Wells.

She’s the fourth woman ever to complete the Sunshine Double of winning Indian Wells and Miami in the same year. The first three women to achieve the feat were Steffi Graf (1994 and 1996), Kim Clijsters (2005) and Victoria Azarenka (2016).

She’s the youngest woman ever to complete the Sunshine Double. Before Swiatek, the youngest woman to achieve the feat was Clijsters at 21. She’s the third-youngest player to achieve the feat, man or woman—Jim Courier and Michael Chang were younger 20-year-olds when they did it in 1991 and 1992, respectively.

Swiatek has only lost a total of 20 games in her last 6 finals, winning them all in straight sets.

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Swiatek has now won her last six WTA finals in a row, all in straight sets. Since losing her first career WTA final in 2019, she’s been unbeatable in title matches.

SWIATEK’S CAREER RESULTS IN WTA FINALS (6-1 career record):
~ 2019 Lugano (WTA 250): l. to Hercog, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
~ 2020 Roland Garros (Grand Slam): d. Kenin, 6-4, 6-1
~ 2021 Adelaide (WTA 500): d. Bencic, 6-2, 6-2
~ 2021 Rome (WTA 1000): d. Pliskova, 6-0, 6-0
~ 2022 Doha (WTA 1000): d. Kontaveit, 6-2, 6-0
~ 2022 Indian Wells (WTA 1000): d. Sakkari, 6-4, 6-1
~ 2022 Miami (WTA 1000): d. Osaka, 6-4, 6-0

She’s now won 10 more matches than anyone else on the tour this year. Her win over Osaka in the Miami final was her 26th win of the year—Paula Badosa and Maria Sakkari are tied for second-most wins on the women's tour this year with 16 each.

She’s the first woman to win the first three WTA 1000 events of a season. Since the WTA 1000 level of event began in 2009, she’s only the third woman to even win three straight WTA 1000s in a season, period, after Caroline Wozniacki (Montreal, Tokyo and Beijing in 2010) and Serena Williams (Miami, Madrid, Rome and Toronto in 2013).

She’s the second Polish woman ever to win Miami. And it comes on the 10-year anniversary of the first time it happened, when Agnieszka Radwanska did it in 2012.