Iga Swiatek has surpassed Caroline Wozniacki to break into the top 10 in the all-time list of weeks that a player has spent in the No. 1 spot of the WTA rankings, as she moves into her 72nd week at the top.
Swiatek has now spent over a year at the top of the WTA rankings after she first reached world No. 1 on April 4, 2022.
Since then, the 22-year-old has won three of her four Grand Slam titles, once at the US Open and twice more at the Roland Garros, helping her to fend off challenges from other highly-ranked players.
The major challenge that Swiatek has had to her No. 1 position lately is world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka. The 25-year-old had a prime opportunity to overtake Swiatek at Wimbledon last month after the Polish player was defeated in the quarter-finals by Elina Svitolina.
At that point, Sabalenka just needed to reach the final to take the No. 1 spot, but she bowed out in the semi-final after being defeated by sixth seed Ons Jabeur.
There was another chance last week at the Canadian Open, but it was reliant on Swiatek not getting to the quarter-final, which she succeeded in doing.
Swiatek's consistency means that she has now reached her 72nd week at No. 1 and has pushed Wozniacki, who spent 71 weeks in that position, out of the top 10 in the list of most weeks spent at the top of the sport.
This is exciting news for Swiatek fans, and many are now wondering how much higher up the list she can reach before she retires. In first place is Steffi Graf, who spent 377 weeks at No. 1. She is followed by Martina Navratilova at 332 weeks, and in third place is Serena Williams at 319.
Chris Evert features on the list in fourth place with 260 weeks, while Ashleigh Barty sits at seventh, having spent an impressive 121 weeks at the top despite her relatively short career.
Iga Swiatek spends 72nd week as world No. 1 This is the 10th most of all-time. Where do you think she'll end up when she retires? 1. Graf 377 2. Navratilova 332 3. S. Williams 319 4. Evert 260 5. Hingis 209 6. Seles 178 7. Barty 121 8. Henin 117 9. Davenport 98 10. Swiatek 72
