Iga Swiatek has joined Serena Williams in a very notable milestone list as the Pole is the eighth player to win 100 matches as the world No. 1 since the rankings were introduced in 1975, via Opta Ace.
On Thursday, Swiatek saw off top-ranked Chinese female tennis player Zheng Qinwen 6-2 6-3 at the United Cup. For Swiatek, it marked her 100th win as the top-ranked player in the game. Before beating Zheng, Swiatek also handed out straight-set defeats to Beatriz Haddad Maia and Sara Sorribes Tormo, respectively.
Following her opening three wins of the new season, Swiatek made it to 100 wins as the world No. 1.
100 – Iga Swiatek has become the 8th player since the WTA Rankings were published in 1975 to secure 100 wins as World No. 1. Centennial.
Can you name the other seven players? Here the answer:https://t.co/QBLKynlBS0#UnitedCup | @UnitedCupTennis @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/rYCo1nPjkz
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 3, 2024
By doing so, Swiatek joined some of the biggest icons of the game. Previously, the players who were able to achieve the feat were Williams, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, and Justine Henin.
Iga Swiatek© Getty Images Sport – Paul Kane
Swiatek beats Zheng for her 100th win as the world No. 1
Zheng, who is enjoying a career-high ranking of No. 14 in the world, made a promising start against Swiatek, breaking the Pole in the very first game of the match. However, Zheng’s early 2-0 lead was short-lived as Swiatek responded by breaking the Chinese in each of the next three games and winning six games in a row to overturn the deficit and win the first set.
At the start of the second set, Swiatek pushed her run to nine games after taking an early 3-0 second-set lead but Zheng managed to get the break back and serve out the sixth game to equal the set to 3-3. After losing three games in a row, Swiatek was able to regain her focus and concentration as the Pole won the following three games to complete her two-set win over Zheng.
Iga Swiatek© Getty Images Sport – Will Russell
By beating China, Poland reached the United Cup semifinal. On Saturday, the Swiatek-led Poland will be taking on France.