On hard and clay courts, Iga reigns supreme. Swiatek wins fourth consecutive tournament, 23rd straight match with Stuttgart title

WTA Stuttgart, Germany

On hard and clay courts, Iga reigns supreme. Swiatek wins fourth consecutive tournament, 23rd straight match with Stuttgart title

The world No. 1 defeated Aryna Sabalenka in a one-sided final, and has lost just one of her last 33 sets played.

Published Apr 24, 2022

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The Break: Iga Swiatek meets the NBA's Jimmy Butler

Iga Swiatek has said that she idolizes Rafael Nadal. Over the course of her week at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, she played the part of Rafa—and, more importantly, earned even more respect from the tennis world.

Nadal began his 2022 season on a 20-match win streak, something Swiatek matched in Stuttgart—and has since surpassed by three. Capped with a 6-2, 6-2 win over fourth-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, Sunday's final had the feel of an early-rounder, given its one-sided nature, and it gave the 20-year-old her fourth consecutive tournament title.

All of Swiatek’s triumphs in Stuttgart were notable in some way. Her 6-1, 6-1 opening-round rout of inspiring Eva Lys was the Pole’s 20th straight win; her 21st came against the US Open champion, Emma Raducanu; and her three-set semifinal win over Ludmilla Samsonova, though not in straight sets, saw Swiatek’s astonishing 28-set win streak fall. That would be the only stumble for Swiatek in Stuttgart, though, who has seamlessly grabbed the baton from the departed No. 1 Ash Barty and has run away as the WTA’s undisputed top player.

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Swiatek's last defeat came on February 16, in a third-set tiebreaker, to Jelena Ostapenko.

That goes for hard and clay courts. Swiatek’s first three trophies came on the hard stuff, in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami—all prestigious events with loaded fields. To follow that up with another conquest in Stuttgart, the most significant WTA-only clay tournament in Europe, may not come as a surprise, given Swiatek’s title at Roland Garros two years ago. But considering the mileage on her and the newfound attention as No. 1, it’s remarkable.

All four of Swiatek’s wins this week were significant, and the same can be said of her four tournament wins on this heater. Doha was an impressive rebound from her semifinal stumble at the Australian Open. Indian Wells and Miami are tradition-laden mini-majors and a difficult Sunshine Double to pull off. Stuttgart is the kick-off to Swiatek’s clay campaign, and a signal that she’ll once again be a major contender in Paris.

And there can be no greater homage to Rafa than that.

More on this final to come from Steve Tignor.

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