Swiatek Shines in 2022 with 23-match Win Streak and Career-high UTR Rating

Swiatek Shines in 2022 with 23-match Win Streak and Career-high UTR Rating

3 min read

It’s been a memorable year for Iga Swiatek (UTR Rating 13.33) and it’s not even May yet. At just 20 years old, the Pole has catapulted into a new role as the best women’s player on the planet.

Reaching Her Potential

Although Ashleigh Barty’s unexpected retirement is what caused Swiatek to assume the No. 1 position in the WTA rankings, she would have gotten there anyway after over two months of unbeaten action. Swiatek has compiled a 23-match win streak dating back to Feb 22, losing just five sets.

"It's something I'm really proud of, and it's a dream come true, for sure," Swiatek said of being No. 1. "It's that kind of thing that I wanted to happen someday, but I didn't really know that it's going to be possible for me."

Her streak has covered 61 days; the last time a player won 23 matches in fewer days was Serena Williams in 2015. Now that is great company to be in.

Along her way, Swiatek has won four titles, WTA 1000s on hard courts in Doha, Indian Wells, and Miami, and the clay WTA 500 in Stuttgart last week.

 

 

Before 2022, Swiatek had just three WTA titles in her haul including the 2020 Roland Garros trophy and Adelaide and Rome in 2021.

"I feel like I could play that kind of tennis last year on my practices and on my training back home, but I always wanted to convert that into my game on matches," Swiatek said in Miami. "Basically last season it was pretty tough to do that for me, but this season it clicked. It's not like these shots are surprising, because I know what I can do.

"Except Roland Garros and maybe, I don't know, few matches in Rome or in Adelaide, I didn't have a chance to show my full potential. I feel like I am doing that right now."

Iga Swiatek is playing dominant tennis in 2022, losing just five sets so far. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Keeping the Momentum Going

At the start of her win streak in February, Swiatek's UTR Rating was 13.09. She has raised it by 0.24 to 13.33, and her three-month trending UTR Rating is up at 13.39. Her UTR Rating is at the highest it's ever been in her career, and as you can see using the Universal Tennis INSIGHTS tool, she leads the field in clay and hard UTR Ratings as well.

Her best wins have come over Simona Halep (13.21), Naomi Osaka (13.09), Maria Sakkari (13.18), and Anett Kontaveit (13.20). While she’s been tested by numerous opponents, she’s absolutely dominated in each final, dropping just two games against Kontaveit in Doha, five to Sakkari in Indian Wells, four to Osaka in Miami, and four to Aryna Sabalenka (12.95) in Stuttgart.

Iga Swiatek won her first major in Paris at Roland Garros in 2020. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Swiatek's overall record is 32-3 (a 91.4% win percentage), including two Fed Cup matches in April where she lost just one game in Poland’s 4-0 win over Romania in Radom, Poland.

It goes almost without saying that Swiatek will be heavily favored at Roland Garros, which starts on May 22. Stay tuned right here for full coverage of the clay-court Grand Slam.

Keep up with Swiatek all year long on UniversalTennis.com or by following along on Instagram.

* UTR Ratings as of April 26, 2022 at 9 a.m. EST.

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