Iga Swiatek becomes first WTA player since Serena Williams to win 4 straight titles
Iga Swiatek continued her dominance of WTA title wins by bagging the 2022 Stuttgart Open title. The World No. 1 breezed past Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-2 in the final to extend her unbeaten run to 23.
The Pole, who reached the top spot in the WTA rankings after Ashleigh Barty's retirement, has now emerged triumphant at four successive WTA tournaments.
In doing so, Iga Swiatek became the first player since Serena Williams in 2013-14 to have won four titles on the trot, with Williams winning US Open, China Open, WTA Finals and Adelaide in 2013-14.
Swiatek is the first WTA player since Serena in 2013/14 (USO, Beijing, WTA Finals, Brisbane) to win 4 straight tournaments.
h/t to @Kfish_WTA
The 20-year-old began the 2022 season by losing to Ashleigh Barty in the semifinals of the Adelaide Open and reached the same stage of the Australian Open as well, going down to Danielle Collins.
The turnaround began post a second-round loss to Jelena Ostapenko at the Dubai Open, with Iga Swiatek getting the better of Anett Kontaveit to win the Qatar Open in late February.
The Pole continued the winning momentum forward by storming into the finals of the Indian Wells Open where she outplayed Maria Sakkari. She then went on to thrash Naomi Osaka in the title round of the Miami Open.
Building on the series of dominant wins, Iga Swiatek demolished an erratic Sabalenka to take home the crown in Stuttgart.
The Pole has now registered straight-sets wins in the last seven finals that she has been a part of and is 7-1 in finals overall.
Iga Swiatek on course to match Serena Williams' 25-match winning streak in 2013-14
Iga Swiatek's current 23-match winning streak is just two shy of Serena Williams' tally from 2013-14
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 title in the WTA Finals and 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 final.
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 in the fourth round at the 2014 Australian Open finally ended Serena Williams' 25-match winning streak.