World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will reach Melbourne Park as one of the biggest favourites for the 2023 Australian Open which starts January 16. The Pole is coming after two Grand Slam title-winning seasons in 2022. She claimed the Majors in the 2022 French Open and the 2022 US Open.
Swiatek turned Pro back in 2016 at the age of 15. She won the Wimbledon Juniors in 2018 and became a Tour regular in 2019. In the four seasons since then, she has won three Grand Slam tournaments and five WTA-1000 titles. She has also completed 40 consecutive weeks as World No. 1. She reached the top of the rankings officially on 4th April 2022 and has not left the spot since.
Iga Swiatek doesn’t have any “real weaknesses”, according to Eurosport expert Barbara Schett, who has predicted the Pole will remain No.1 this year.
Swiatek enjoyed a stellar 2022 after winning eight WTA tournaments, which included the French Open and US Open Grand Slams.
No player could match Swiatek’s records for finals reached, trophies won and matches won in 2022. The world No. 1 also went on a 37-match winning streak and was victorious in six consecutive tournaments.
Speaking ahead of the Australian Open, where Swiatek will go in as top seed and hopes to win her first title Down Under in the absence of holder Ashleigh Barty, Schett believes Swiatek is the one to beat again in 2023.
“I think she’s on the right track, and we all know that,” Schett told Eurosport’s Arnold Montgault.
“Iga Swiatek is so driven. She’s working on dealing with that pressure so much. And she does have pressure. I mean, this year she’s had, it’s just outstanding. I can’t remember when I’ve experienced that last.
“And I remember at the beginning of the year when she suddenly became No. 1 in the world because Ash Barty announced her retirement. I was thinking, how is she going to deal with that situation now? And she has done so well. It was just outstanding,” she said.
Schett said in her view, Swiatek is the world No. 1, adding, “She might not have a year like that where she has such a run in winning so many matches, one after each other, but it doesn’t matter.”
She further said Swiatek “has the consistency, she has the shots” and “no real weaknesses”.
“I don’t think she gets carried away and she’s learned how to handle her emotions much better and I think she’s still improving and getting better each day, each week, each month.
“And it’s all about consistency, isn’t it? At the end of the day, who plays the most consistent throughout the year will be No. 1 in the world. She knows, even when she doesn’t play her best tennis, that she’s going to win those matches and she finds a way to win those matches,” Schett said.
And, while Mats Wilander has no questions about Swiatek’s ability, he does have doubts about her mindset.
“I think Iga Swiatek’s dominance is going to depend on her,” Wilander told Eurosport’s Montgault.
“I think that 2022 was obviously a massive year for her to be able to prove to, I mean, I guess us, but to herself, that she’s the best player in the world.
“And I think she proved that in the US open that it doesn’t have to be on clay. ‘I can win on hard courts, which means then that I can also win on grass. So, I’m the best player in the world’.
“The only thing that can stand in between Iga Swiatek and winning two or three majors in 2023 is Iga herself.
“I think that you have to at some point, and I’m not saying that she is or isn’t, but at some point you have to go, ‘okay, I’m better than everybody else. It’s time to stop worrying about if I’m playing good or if I’m playing bad. I’m better than everybody else, and I’m not losing to anyone’.
“And I think that’s the mindset that she’s not quite there yet. When I watch her play, I see sometimes a frustration that I understand, but comes because age-wise, she’s not old enough, and she hasn’t been around long enough to understand if you compare to the champions that are older, where really they don’t care how they’re playing, they’re just going to beat the person across the net. And that’s going to happen to Iga.
“If that happens in 2023, she can defend better than anybody else, which then makes her more relaxed in being more aggressive than everybody else.
“She moves better than everybody else, I believe, and she can play on all the different surfaces. So, I think it’s just about her not standing in her own way,” Wilander said.
John McEnroe also weighed into the topic, stressing that Swiatek is “by far and away the best player” but warns that the retirement of Barty could hurt her.
“I think when Ash Barty retired that obviously sent shockwaves because here is a young woman at 25 that had come off winning Wimbledon, then winning the Australian Open and you think ‘Ok she’s going to the US Open in the next year and it’s just a matter of time’,” McEnroe told Eurosport’s Reem Abulleil.
“Obviously, I hope she’s happy, you never want to see someone walk away from it that young because then you’re like ‘what’s wrong with the women’s game that the No. 1 player walked away from the game aged 25’?” he said.
The way Swiatek plays, McEnroe said, reminds him of Novak Djokovic and he’s confident the Pole will be successful this year.
“I think right now she’s by far and away the best player, she’s a fantastic athlete, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a young woman get slide into the corners, it reminds me of Novak quite a bit,” he continued.
“So I would be surprised if she didn’t win a couple more French Opens at least, and she’s learned to play on hard courts so there’s no question that she’s the favourite in every tournament she plays.
“She’s got to be careful with her schedule, I don’t think she’ll go on 37-match winning streaks as much because now obviously people are going to be gunning for her more, but I’ll be very surprised if she doesn’t win a bunch more majors.”
