"I hope one day there will be more of us in Poland playing tennis at the highest possible level"- Iga Swiatek after becoming World No. 1
Iga Swiatek officially became the top-ranked player in the world on Monday following her stunning triumphs at the WTA 1000 events in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami. The 20-year-old replaces Ashleigh Barty, who announced her retirement from the sport last month.
🥇 It’s official today and I want to give myself, my family, my team, and partners a moment to celebrate it and to be happy about it...
⤵️ https://t.co/vK4v9NyHFj
The 2020 Roland Garros champion took to social media to share her thoughts on the accomplishment. She acknowledged the collective efforts of her family and team in her success before hailing the feat as a significant juncture in Polish tennis history.
"It’s official today and I want to give myself, my family, my team, and partners a moment to celebrate it and to be happy about it," Swiatek wrote in a social media post. "I usually don’t focus on numbers, on rankings, but this moment is huge to me as I have become the first Polish, female or male, tennis player to reach the top spot in singles."
With her rise to the No. 1 position, the 20-year-old has gone a step further than Agnieszka Radwanska, who was previously the highest-ranked Pole at No. 2.
Iga Swiatek hopes her achievement will help usher several other players from her country into the top echelons of the sport.
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"I hope maybe one day there will be more of us in Poland playing tennis at the highest possible level," the 20-year-old said. "I’m extremely grateful that my work could be an inspiration for some people. And last but not least… I love the game and appreciate every moment of it these days."
Swiatek has become the 28th player to scale the summit of the rankings since the implementation of the system in 1975. She had her very own photoshoot with the Chris Evert trophy at the picturesque Hollywood beach in Florida.
"I know there's going to be a lot of pressure" - Iga Swiatek ahead of the clay-court season
In a recent interview with WTA Insider, Iga Swiatek said she hoped to take her winning momentum into the clay-court season. Having previously won titles at the Italian Open and Roland Garros, the Pole admitted that she feels comfortable playing on the red dirt. She believes, however, that she is likely to feel the pressure of being the World No. 1 going forward.
"It is really exciting because it's always more comfortable for me to play on clay," Swiatek remarked. "I feel like I can hit with even more variety than on hard courts. I know there's going to be a lot of pressure and I can't promise that I'm going to handle it well because I've never been in a situation like that before. So I'm going to do my best to do that well."
#1GA 
I tell you folks, it's harder than it looks ⚡️
It's a long way to the top, @iga_swiatek! 🤘
📈 #1GA 📈 https://t.co/lLOcfTWScs