Iga Swiatek smashed
Justine Henin's record for fewest games lost en route to the
WTA Finals title following her impressive victory in Cancun.
Swiatek soared to victory at the 2023 WTA Finals, moving past each of her opponents without dropping a set. She began her campaign against Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the Group Stage, winning the first set on a tiebreak before dominating the second 6-0.
Next, she defeated Coco Gauff 6-0, 7-5, before downing Ons Jabeur 6-1, 6-2. After this, she made easy work of top seed Aryna Sabalenka in their semi-final clash, ousting her opponent 6-3, 6-2.
Swiatek shows off dominant display
The 22-year-old then faced World No. 5 Jessica Pegula in the final and dominated the clash, winning, 6-1, 6-0. This not only meant that she won her maiden WTA Finals title and re-claimed the position of World No. 1 in the WTA Ranking but also saw her achieve an extraordinary record.
Prior to this year, seven-time Grand Slam champion Henin held the record for the fewest games lost en route to victory at the WTA Finals, having lost only 34 games before clinching the title in 2007. However, Swiatek lost only 20 games on her way to the title in 2023, shattering the Belgian player's record after 16 years.
This dominant display impressed fans, who took to social media in order to share their praise of the Polish player.
"Iga Swiatek breaks the record for the fewest games lost en route to winning the WTA Finals title. Before today, Justine Henin held the record with 34 games lost en route to the title in 2007. Iga shattered the record with just 20 games lost this week. History," wrote The Tennis Letter on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Funny the Tennis Letter mentions Iga Swiatek and Justin Henin in the same breath because that is, in my mind, the perfect comparison when describing [Iga’s] playing style. She’s a tad more relentless and powerful than Henin but she’s very much Justin Henin 2.0. That’s a good thing," commented one fan.
"I hope she breaks all the records in the future," added another.
