"Doing something more than Serena is incredible" - Swiatek on winning streak

Iga Swiatek affirmed her firm grip on the world No.1 ranking, thanks to a 6-1 6-3 victory over Coco Gauff in Saturday’s final in Paris.

The victory earned her a sixth straight tournament title and 35th consecutive match win, placing her in illustrious company. Swiatek was well aware of this, and when asked to consider which of her multiple accomplishments pleased her most, she pointed to her unbeaten run of victories.

She said:

“Having that 35th (consecutive) win and kind of doing something more than Serena did, it's something special. Because I always wanted to… have some kind of a record. In tennis it's pretty hard after Serena's career. So basically that really hit me. Obviously winning a Grand Slam too, but this one was pretty special because I felt like I've done something that nobody ever done, and maybe it's going to be even more.”

Swiatek explained that growing her streak became a more challenging task at Roland Garros, because unlike the many matches she won earlier in the season at WTA 1000 events, this was a Grand Slam tournament where “the value of these matches are a little bit higher"

She explained:

“I felt the baggage. The hardest thing is like not letting yourself think about that and overanalyse and not letting yourself think about all the numbers. I have been doing that for a few months now, and for sure, two weeks here were harder, also because (the media) keep reminding me about all this stuff. But it's part of the work and I'm getting better and better at it, and that's also something that I'm proud of."