Iga SWIATEK ascends atop WTA Race usurping Aryna Sabalenka after Indian Wells

Iga Swiatek has taken the lead in the WTA Race, surpassing Aryna Sabalenka after her title win at Indian Wells. The Polish player led the first week of the season, but after the Australian Open, Sabalenka pulled ahead as the top player in the Race. However, Sabalenka's early exit at Tennis Paradise allowed Swiatek to rise to the top.

Swiatek currently holds the No. 1 spot in the Race until the end of the Madrid Open, which concludes on May 5th. This means she will reach 100 weeks at the top and move into the ninth position among players with the most weeks at No. 1, surpassing Lindsay Davenport.

The Race only considers points earned from the first week of the season, and it determines the eight players who qualify for the WTA Finals. Currently, Swiatek has accumulated 3,030 points, followed by Sabalenka (2,465), Elena Rybakina (2,053), Australian Open finalist Zheng Qinwen (1,730), and Coco Gauff (1,655).

With her first title of the season, Swiatek heads into Miami as the favorite after displaying incredible form at Indian Wells, where she only dropped 21 games in 6 matches (an average of 3.3 games per match). Additionally, Swiatek found her best form of the season just two weeks before the start of the clay season, her specialty, considering three of her four Grand Slam titles came at the French Open.