How Swiatek locked down the No.1 ranking in 2023

The plot of “Ocean’s Eleven,” the memorable 2001 heist film starring George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt and Andy Garcia, is fairly straightforward. Danny Ocean, played slyly by Clooney, puts together a team of specialists to steal $160 million from the casinos of Terry Benedict (Garcia).

A year ago, when Iga Swiatek embarked on her own quest — regaining the Hologic WTA Tour’s No.1 ranking — she had no collaborators, and it was anything but straightforward. Hiding in plain sight, unlike Ocean’s team of quirky thieves, this one was all Swiatek.

She had held the No.1 ranking for 75 weeks, since April 2022, when Aryna Sabalenka emerged from the US Open with that honor, becoming only the 29^th woman to hold the position.

WTA Finals Riyadh: Scores | Schedule | Standings

Swaitek’s first outing as No.2 ended in her second match, the quarterfinals in Tokyo, with a loss to Veronika Kudermetova. What followed was a remarkable run, a 37-day odyssey that saw Swiatek win her last 11 matches of the season. Swiatek took the title in Beijing and ran the table at the WTA Finals in Cancun. The final count in sets was an astounding 22-1, the game totals 134-57, with six victories over Top 10 players.

Heading into the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF, Swiatek again finds herself No.2 to Sabalenka. And while she’s further back than a year ago, the possibility of reclaiming the No.1 ranking still exists. After winning her opening match Sunday, she needs to win the title here and hope Sabalenka (also 1-0) fails to advance to the semifinals.

In the scheme of things, losing the No.1 ranking last year might have been a blessing.

“I think it’s a bit easier to come back to the mindset of chasing somebody because that’s what we’ve been doing our whole lives,” Swiatek said before play began in Beijing. “There’s only one person who’s at No.1.  I think this was harder to get used to last season. But honestly, it doesn’t really matter for me because after the US Open, I knew I was going to drop to second position.

“I stopped thinking about rankings because I felt like there’s some baggage off my shoulders.”

Playing freely, Swiatek closed the deal in memorable fashion. Here’s a look back at her thrilling, no-margin-for-error navigation through those 11 matches:

no 1: Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4, 6-3: Swiatek came out attacking in this match, winning 15 of 17 points at net in the first set. “I’m pretty proud of my performance at the net,” Swiatek said afterward, “because technically, I feel like my volley has changed. I think against some players it’s kind of necessary to go to the net, and today that was that kind of a match.”

No. 2: Varvara Gracheva 6-4, 6-1: This was Swiatek’s first appearance at the China Open — and it was beginning to look like home for the 22-year-old from Poland. Varvara, ranked No.47, played a competitive first set but eventually succumbed in straights.

No. 3: Magda Linette 6-1, 6-1: This was an impressive 66-minute win over the World No.25. In only the second all-Polish matchup at a WTA 1000 event since the format was introduced in 2009, Swiatek dropped only a pair of games on her way to the quarterfinals for the 14^th time in 2023 — and the seventh time (out of seven) in WTA 1000s. Compatriot Agnieszka Radwanska was the only player to reach eight quarters at that level of play.

No.4: Caroline Garcia 6-7 (8), 7-6 (5), 6-1: This was as close as Swiatek came to losing in this streak. Garcia, leading 6-5, was within two points of closing out a straight-sets win, but Swiatek saved her serve and rallied to win. “For sure it was really intense,” Swiatek said. “We played really fast. There was no time to think or analyze. I’m happy I used my intuition a lot. In both of the first sets, every ball counted. I’m happy that in the third I could just go for it.”

No. 5: Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-3: Back in August, after losing her first seven career matches to Swiatek, Gauff produced her first win, in the Cincinnati semifinals. The American teenager came into the Beijing semifinals with a 16-match win streak. Swiatek played a clean match, striking 17 winners and only six unforced errors – and facing no break points. “It feels like I can play freely again, so I’m really happy,” Swiatek said. “It’s been a while since I felt that way. I’m happy that I switched my attitude after the US Open, and hopefully I’ll be able to keep it for as long as possible.”

No. 6 Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 6-2: It was a stellar season for Samsonova, who vaulted into her third final, following Abu Dhabi and Montreal, with an impressive win over No.5-ranked Elena Rybakina. But in the final, Swiatek was masterful, winning her tour-leading fifth title and 16^th overall. She was the first to win five or more titles in back-to-back seasons since Serena Williams in 2014-15. “I feel like this tournament will give me confidence for the rest of my career that there’s always ability, a chance to overcome and work on what you do or what you feel,” Swiatek said afterward. “You can always get better. Sometimes it’s kind of pretty easy, but we tend to make it more complicated in our heads.”

No. 7: Marketa Vondrousova 7-6 (3), 6-0: Swiatek had three weeks off after Beijing, plenty of time to think about her prospects at the WTA Finals in Cancun. She came out a little rusty in her opening match of group play against the Wimbledon champion, falling behind 5-2 when she lost three of her first four service games. Swiatek rallied to win 13 of 17 points to force a tie break. At 3-all in the tiebreak, Swiatek drilled a big forehand winner, collected a service winner and hit her first ace of the evening to get to set point, before Vondrousova double-faulted to end it. The second set took about half as long. “She was playing amazing,” Vondrousova said, “and there was nothing much to do.”

No. 8: Coco Gauff 6-0, 7-5: Swiatek made it two in a row against the US Open champion, dropping a characteristic bagel in the opening set. Gauff countered by taking a 4-2 lead in the second set before Swiatek began to reel her in. Serving for the set at 5-4, Gauff hit four straight double faults and Swiatek (now 9-1 against Gauff) raised her record to 2-0 in group play.

No. 9: Our Jabeur 6-1, 6-2: This one was over 67 minutes, as Swiatek finished as the 3-0 Chetumal Group winner. That set up a lights-out semifinal, a head-to-head matchup for the No.1 ranking with Sabalenka. A win for Sabalenka would guarantee her the top spot. A Swiatek victory would give her the opportunity to reclaim No.1 with a win in the final. “We’ll see what the conditions are going to be,” Swiatek said after her win. “Against Aryna it’s never easy.”

No.10 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2: Outside of the unpredictable atmospheric conditions, this one was surprisingly easy. The match, scheduled for Saturday, was suspended with Swiatek leading 2-1, pushing it to Sunday. Swiatek came out quickly, breaking Sabalenka’s serve in the fourth game. Swiatek wrested the momentum immediately when play resumed and broke Sabalenka’s serve in the fourth game. Unable to force a single break point in the second, Sabalenka was done in with repeated forehand errors. Jessica Pegula, meanwhile, was a 6-2, 6-1 winner over doubles partner Coco Gauff and advanced to her first WTA Finals championship match. Both players were 4-0 with no dropped sets.  “Jessie is a great player, and she fully deserves to be in the final of any tournament,” Swiatek said. “I feel like it’s still a long way,” Swiatek said, “because tomorrow’s match should be like the toughest one.”

No.11: Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-0: Pegula was riding a nine-match win streak, but Swiatek finished famously and furiously, dropping only a single game. Swiatek won 25 of 36 points in the first set, and 26 of 36 in the second. At 22, Swiatek was the youngest year-end champion since Petra Kvitova, who was 21 in 2011. That gave her the No.1 ranking that she had relinquished to Sabalenka for eight weeks. “It’s hard not to think about stuff like that,” Swiatek said of the No.1 ranking. But went on to explain that by learning to not think about it saved her season. “Today was like a highlight of this mental [approach] — just being narrow with your head, only thinking about the right stuff.” Pegula was, as always, gracious. She clearly really wanted that ranking,” Pegula said. “I mean, you could tell by the way she was competing here. She was, like today, crushing people.”