Iga Swiatek topples Serena Williams from top spot in WTA 1000 clay winning percentage
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek continued her exceptional run of form by beating Bernarda Pera to reach the fourth round of the Madrid Open. Swiatek has added another feather to her already illustrious cap with this win; she has surpassed Serena Williams as the player with the highest winning percentage in claycourt WTA 1000 events.
Williams retired from the sport in 2022 after winning 23 Grand Slam singles titles across a career that spanned more than two decades. The American has a success rate of 88% on clay in WTA 1000 events, followed by Maria Sharapova with a 82.1% winning percentage.
Swiatek's win over Pera was her 52nd in her 59th WTA 1000 match on clay, taking her winning percantage to 88.2%.
88.2% - Iga Swiatek now holds the highest winning percentage on clay at WTA-1000 events (88.2%), surpassing Serena Williams (88%). Commander.
#MMOPEN | @MutuaMadridOpen @WTA @WTA_insider https://t.co/XRrHVvmkfc
Two-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur is also among the top five on the list, with an 81.3% winning percentage across WTA 1000 events on clay.
During her playing career, Serena Williams won the Madrid Open twice, in 2012 and 2013. Swiatek, however, is yet to win her maiden Madrid Open singles title.
How has Iga Swiatek fared so far this year?
Iga Swiatek has been in good form since the start of the season.
The World No. 1 kicked off her campaign at the Australian Open, where she lost to reigning Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina in the fourth round. But she followed it up with a title-winning run at the Qatar Open, that too without dropping a single set.
Swiatek then reached the final in Dubai, where she lost to Barbora Krejcikova, 6-4, 6-2. Up against Rybakina for the second time in the season, Swiatek lost in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
At the Stuttgart Open, Swiatek beat 2023 Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka in the final to win her second title of the season.
At the Madrid Open, the two-time French Open winner beat Julia Grabher 6-3, 6-2 in the second round. She then got the better of Pera to book a place in the fourth round of the tournament.
Iga Swiatek will face either Zheng Qinwen or 16th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in her next match.