It is a dream come true for Sabalenka, but what could it mean for Swiatek who has held it since April 2022? Is this the start of a continued downfall? Or will it only serve to light a fire that will see her to greater heights?
Let’s take a look back at what it has been like for the Pole and what it is going to mean for her going forward in her career.
Shock Rise to Number 1
Before Swiatek started her reign as World Number 1, it was Ashleigh Barty who held it.
Australian Barty shocked the tennis world with news of her retirement at the peak of her career. She explained her retirement saying that she had achieved her ultimate goal, which is to win her hometown Grand Slam – the Australian Open.
When she stepped down, then World Number 2 Swiatek inherited the top spot.
The Polish player did not have to secure points to overcome Barty, unlike Sabalenka who had to make every point count to ensure her place in the top.
Staying on Top
Despite that, Swiatek proved again and again in her 75-week reign that she was deserving of her spot at the top.
Since she became World Number, she won two Grand Slams – the 2022 French Open and the 2022 US Open.
That year, she also bagged the Dubai/Qatar Open, Indian Wells Open, Miami Open, and Italian Open titles. In 2023, she also won the French Open for the third time and made it as far as the quarterfinals of Wimbledon – the only Grand Slam she has not won yet.
Falling to Number 2
Swiatek went into the US Open as the top-seeded player and as the defending champion. At the time, Sabalenka was close enough to Swiatek’s rankings points that in order to remain at Number 1, she had to successfully defend her US Open title.
When her run in New York ended in the quarterfinals, she also lost the top spot, no matter how well Sabalenka does going forward.
Sabalenka may have only finished in second place, behind Coco Gauff who had an impressive New York run, but she still bagged World Number 1, and is now around 1000 points or so ahead of Swiatek.
What Falling from the Top Spot Means
75 consecutive weeks as the World Number is no small feat.
This puts her in the Number 10 spot with the most weeks as Number 1, surpassing Caroline Wozniacki’s 71 weeks. She is also number 12 in the list of players with the most weeks spent as Number 1. It is also the third-longest consecutive run by a first-timer in the WTA.
She is also the first Polish player ever to have won a Grand Slam.
It is, therefore, only understandable that she would feel a bit saddened by the new development.
In an interview, she said that she was feeling some “sad emotions” as she dropped in the rankings.
She does plan to make sure that she will go on a progress a player, saying:
“But for sure when it happens, when you lose it, there are some sad emotions. As I said at the beginning, all these great players know it’s going to come back if you work hard, focus on the right things, just develop as a player.”
She also shared some thoughts on the idea of “defending” your spot on the top or your title. She had gone into the US Open as that year’s defending champion, having won the year before.
“Last 1.5 years was a time of observing and experiencing how much people talk and write about ‘defending’, ‘defense’ - of titles, ranking position, points… I was surprised sometimes to start to think this way because of this,” she said, opening up.
“But… I don’t need to defend anything and this is a good moment to write down some thoughts.”
“For me, sport is a cycle of constant changes exactly like in everyday life, we can either win or lose - that’s it, it’s so simple. New season, next tournament, new opportunities to GAIN, ACHIEVE, not defend something. Clean slate.”
Veterans have also weighed in on the development with Mats Wilander saying:
“I think this is most probably the best thing that can happen for her tennis.”
“There’s a reason for her to start working on her game again and figuring out what happens to her when she plays against big hitters now she doesn’t have to [worry about being world No. 1],” he added
Losing the World Number 1 position may not be the happiest of developments but it may instead light a fire under Swiatek that will help drive her to greater heights in her career.
The Future for Swiatek
If the question on your mind is whether or not she could retake World Number 1? In all likelihood, that’s a YES.
Swiatek is a really good tennis player. She was not World Number 1 for 75 weeks out of sheer luck. She kept winning and she is a formidable opponent on the court.
Let’s not forget the spring and summer of 2022 when she had an impressive 135-day 37-match unbeaten winning streak.
She is also a grounded player and losing the number 1 spot is guaranteed to ground her further.