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There aren’t a lot of firsts left for Iga Swiatek to achieve, but she ticked yet another box at the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday.

With a nail-biting 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7) championship victory over Aryna Sabalenka, in which she fought off three match points, Swiatek won the WTA 1000 event for the first time in her career.

Madrid was the only big clay-court event missing from her resume—she’s already won Roland Garros three times, the WTA 1000 in Rome twice and the WTA 500 in Stuttgart twice.

But there’s more.

This was also the milestone 20th WTA title of Swiatek’s career, making her the first tennis player born in the 2000s, male or female, to capture 20 career tour-level titles.

The only other tennis players born in 2000 or later with double-digit tour-level titles are on the men’s side—Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who both have 13 ATP titles to their names.

Coco Gauff seems on her way to becoming the next 2000s-born player to hit double-digit titles, currently with seven WTA titles.

SWIATEK’S 20 CAREER TITLES (tour-level):
4 Grand Slams [2020 Roland Garros, 2022 Roland Garros, 2022 US Open, 2023 Roland Garros]
1 WTA Finals [2023]
9 WTA 1000s [2021 Rome, 2022 Doha, 2022 Indian Wells, 2022 Miami, 2022 Rome, 2023 Beijing, 2024 Doha, 2024 Indian Wells, 2024 Madrid]
5 WTA 500s [2021 Adelaide, 2022 Stuttgart, 2022 San Diego, 2023 Doha, 2023 Stuttgart]
1 WTA 250 [2023 Warsaw]

The 22-year-old Pole is also the youngest player to win 20 career WTA titles since Caroline Wozniacki in 2012.

Swiatek has won her last seven finals in a row.

Swiatek has won her last seven finals in a row.

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There’s something else about Swiatek that has helped her win title after title (after title) over the years—she’s demonstrated a clear pattern of lifting her game when it comes to finals.

Since falling to Sabalenka in the Madrid final a year ago, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, Swiatek has now won her last seven finals in a row, and has an incredible 20-4 career record in title matches.

SWIATEK’S LAST SEVEN FINALS (7-0):
d. Muchova in 2023 Roland Garros F, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
d. Siegemund in 2023 Warsaw F, 6-0, 6-1
d. Samsonova in 2023 Beijing F, 6-2, 6-2
d. Pegula in 2023 WTA Finals F, 6-1, 6-0
d. Rybakina in 2024 Doha F, 7-6 (8), 6-2
d. Sakkari in 2024 Indian Wells F, 6-4, 6-0
d. Sabalenka in 2024 Madrid F, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7)