Iga Świątek to take over No. 1 spot following historic Miami Open victory

Iga Świątek will become the new world No. 1 in women’s tennis, following her victory over Naomi Osaka in the Miami Open final.

She will take Ash Barty’s top spot when the WTA releases its updated rankings on Monday, following the Australian’s shock retirement announcement last month. 

It was a dominant performance from the 20-year-old hailing from Poland, defeating Osaka 6-4 6-0 to claim her third WTA 1000 tournament of the season.

Świątek did not drop a set all tournament in Miami and has now won 17 consecutive matches in a run of form stretching back to February.

To add further to her already-impressive resume, she has become the youngest woman to win the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments back-to-back, a feat known as the ‘Sunshine Double’.

She joins notable tennis champions Victoria Azarenka (2016), Kim Clijsters (2005), and Steffi Graf (1994 and 1996) as the only other women to have achieved the same result.

A third WTA 1000 title in a row 🏆🏆🏆

🇵🇱 @iga_swiatek becomes the youngest player EVER to win the #MiamiOpen and Indian Wells in the same year! pic.twitter.com/B3PJOtsWfx

— wta (@WTA) April 2, 2022

It was a tense start to the Miami Open final, with Osaka saving two break points and pushing through seven deuces to hold her first service game.

Świątek was able to break in the fifth game of the match, claiming the first set 6-4.

She then used this momentum to her advantage in the second set, romping home to take it 6-0. 

“These weeks were so intense I didn’t really know if I would able to keep up with the streak that I have,” Świątek said. 

“It’s amazing for me that I could show mental toughness because my whole life I thought I could do more and sometimes I was losing and I didn’t even know why.

“This season I feel like everything clicked so it’s great … I am really happy.”

The soon-to-be world No. 1 also elaborated on the recent growth of women’s tennis.

“Well, I don’t know if me being No. 1 … actually changes anything at WTA, because they have been continuing good work to promote tennis and women’s sports for a very long time,” she said.

“For sure, my goal from the beginning when I started was to make tennis more popular in Poland, and I’m going to for sure be focusing on that.”