Iga Swiatek crowned her exceptional form with the title at the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome on Sunday. The unapproachable Polish also remained in the final against Ons Jabeur without losing a set and recorded her 28th victory in a row: 6-2 and 6-2.
Twenty-year-old Swiatek initially did not get into trouble at all against Jabeur, the number seven in the world from Tunisia. Jabeur recorded a disappointing first service percentage of 50 in the first set and took only two of the first twelve games on the Italian clay.
In the second set, 27-year-old Jabeur experienced a revival after a 0-4 deficit. The winner of the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid took nine points in a row and got four more breakpoints at 2-4, but Swiatek knocked them all away and then decided the final with a break.
For Swiatek it is already her fifth tournament victory of the year. The number one in the world already won the WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami on hard courts in 2022, after which she also won the clay tournament in Stuttgart. Swiatek is only the second player ever to win four or more WTA 1000 tournaments in a season. Serena Williams won five in 2013.
Iga Swiatek is now 28 games in a row without defeat.
Iga Swiatek is now 28 games in a row without defeat. Photo: Getty Images
Swiatek last lost in February
In between her tournament victories, Swiatek also won two more matches at the Billie Jean King Cup, taking her 28 games in a row without defeat. Jelena Ostapenko was the last to defeat the unleashed Polish at the WTA tournament in Doha in February.
Due to her excellent series, clay court specialist Swiatek is the top favorite for Roland Garros, which starts May 22. The global number one won the Grand Slam tournament in Paris two years ago.
The men’s final in Rome is between Novak Djokovic and Stéfanos Tsitsipás and starts around 4 pm.