Iga Swiatek poses with the 2022 Stuttgart Open trophy
Iga Swiatek continued her juggernaut of WTA title wins by bagging the 2022 Stuttgart Open title. The World No. 1 breezed past Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-2 to extend her unbeaten run to 23 wins.
The Pole, who reached the top spot in the WTA rankings after Ashleigh Barty’s retirement, has now emerged triumphant at four successtive WTA tournaments.
In doing so, Iga Swiatek became the first player since Serena Williams to have won four titles on the trot.
The 20-year-old began the 2022 season losing to Ashleigh Barty in the semifinals of the Adelaide Open and posted the same result at the Australian Open as well, going down to Danille Collins.
The turnaround began post a second-round loss to Jelena Ostapenko at the Dubai Open, with Iga Swiatek getting the better of Annett Kontaveit to win the finals of the Qatar Open in late February.
The Pole carried the winning momentum forward by storming into the finals of the Indian Wells Open where she outplayed Maria Sakkari and went on to thrash Naomi Osaka in the title round of the Miami Open.
Following up on a series of dominant wins in the finals at Qatar, Indian Wells, and Miami, Iga Swiatek was at her best against an erratic Sabalenka.
The Pole has now registered straight-sets wins in the last seven finals that she has been a part of.
Iga Swiatek on her way to match Serena Williams’ 25-match winning streak in 2013-14
Serena Williams with Ricky Martin at the 2013 US Open
With Swiatek on a 23-match winning streak and now playing on her best surface (claycourt), it seems the Pole could stretch her win-streak even further. The last time a player was as dominant was Serena Williams in the 2013-14 season when she won 25 matches on the trot.
Serena Williams began the 2013 US Open as the top seed and defending champion. In a rematch of the 2012 final, Williams met Victoria Azarenka, who was the second seed.
Despite the Belarusian clinching the second set, it was Williams who went on to win her fifth US Open title in New York.
The World No. 1 won her 10th title of the year by beating Jelena Jankovic in the final of the 2013 China Open before traveling to Istanbul for the Year-End-Championsips.
Williams, who was on a roll, cruised into the finals after beating Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals. Li Na, a first-time finalist, was no match for the marauding American, who lost the first set only to hand the Chinese player a bagel in the decider.
Williams ended the year on a high with a victory in the WTA Finals but wasn’t done yet as she carried her form into the new year.
After accounting for Maria Sharapova in the semifinals of the 2014 Brisbane International, Williams ran into Victoria Azarenka in the finals yet again.
It was a clash between the two top-ranked players in the world at the time, and despite some stiff resistance from the Belarusian in the second set, Williams went on to capture her fourth straight title.
A loss to Ana Ivanovic at the 2014 Australian Open finally ended Serena Williams’ 25-match winning streak.
