by Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Iga Swiatek from Poland, who burst onto the tennis scene with her remarkable run to the French Open title in the quirky Autumn version in 2020, is fast proving she is ready to embark on a Hall of Fame career.
The 20-year-old from Warsaw added the Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells, California, regarded as one of the biggest titles in tennis outside of the four major championships, beating Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-4, 6-1 in the final. Last year, Swiatek claimed the crown at the Italian Championships in Rome, regarded on the same prestigious level as Indian Wells.
She has played five WTA singles finals in her short career, winning four. If you include her career on the “minor league” ITF World Tennis Tour, she has won 11 of 12 singles finals.
To boot, her Indian Wells title moved her to the No. 2 WTA singles ranking, equaling the highest ranking ever by a player from Poland, equaling that of former Wimbledon finalist Aga Radwanska.
“It’s hard to play in big matches and remain calm but she has it instinctually,” said former world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport on Tennis Channel of the poise of Swiatek, noting that the one match this year she regrets is a semifinal loss at the Australian Open to Danielle Collins.
Despite the final-round loss, the tournament for Sakkari was a success as she also moved to a career-high ranking of No. 3.
