HOW IGA SWIATEK FLIPPED THE PRESSURE ON HER OPPONENTS TO STORM BACK TO WORLD NO. 1

A year after compiling one of the most dominant seasons in WTA Tour history, Iga Swiatek delivered arguably the most dominant performance ever seen at the WTA Finals.

As stormy weather in Cancun wrecked Coco Gauff’s umbrella, Swiatek blew a gale through the tournament, dropping 20 games throughout her five matches at the tournament, the fewest any player has managed since the round-robin format was introduced 20 years ago. The previous best was Serena Williams’ mark of 32 in 2012.

Her showings against Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals and final were emphatic, ruthless, and a reminder that Swiatek can hit heights few others can reach.

“She’s been, in my mind, the one to beat the last couple years,” said Pegula after taking just one game from Swiatek in the final.

“She’s showing that even when she loses some matches or doesn’t win the tournament, that she’s still bouncing right back and is playing at a high level every single week.

“That’s what a top player does, what a champion does, and I think she showed that.”

Swiatek finishes the year with more wins (68), more titles (six), and more top-10 victories (13) than anyone else on the WTA Tour. That she reached 23 bagel sets for the season with three at the WTA Finals, including one in the final against a player who had not dropped a set in four previous matches at the tournament, is testament to her quality.

In hitting 68 wins for the season – surpassing her 67 from last year – Swiatek has become the first woman since Jelena Jankovic in 2008 to record 65 wins in back-to-back seasons.

After her last-16 defeat to Jelena Ostapenko in New York, which meant she would relinquish the world No. 1 ranking to Sabalenka following the tournament, Swiatek spoke about not knowing why she was “making so many mistakes” in the match.

“I don’t really know what happened with my game. I felt no control suddenly.”

It was an issue that would plague Swiatek again in her next tournament as she made 50 unforced errors, including 20 in the first set, in a quarter-final defeat to Veronika Kudermetova at the Japan Open.

What happened next? Swiatek tightened things up, in a big way.

In the China Open semi-finals against Gauff she made just six unforced errors and didn’t face a break point. In the final against Liudmila Samsonova she didn’t make a single unforced error.

“It feels like I can play freely again,” said Swiatek after ending Gauff’s 16-match winning streak in the semis.