Iga Swiatek wins maiden WTA Finals title, reclaims World No. 1 ranking

CANCUN: Iga Swiatek earned her first WTA Finals title and the year-end No. 1 ranking by overwhelming Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-0 on Monday. From 1-1 at the outset, Swiatek seized complete control, collecting the next 11 games with her high-quality baseline game, rarely making an unforced error and repeatedly pressuring Pegula into mistakes.

Swiatek, a 22-year-old from Poland, went 5-0 at the tour’s season-closing championship, winning all 10 sets she played and ceding a total of just 20 games. That’s the fewest by the tournament’s winner since 2003, when it returned to a round-robin format; the previous low in that span was the 34 games dropped by Justine Henin in 2007.

Swiatek is also the youngest WTA Finals champion since Petra Kvitova was 21 in 2011.

Swiatek extended her winning streak to 11 matches and improved to 68-11 with six trophies in 2023, including at the French Open in June for her fourth Grand Slam title.

This victory allows her to return to No. 1, a spot Swiatek held from April 2022 until this September, when she relinquished it to Aryna Sabalenka. Swiatek defeated Sabalenka in a semifinal that began on Saturday, was suspended by rain, then finished on Sunday. Agencies

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