Is Peak Iga here to stay? Swiatek riding high through another clay swing

For the last 20 years, spring tennis was synonymous with one player: Rafael Nadal.

That’s partially true again this year, but for a different reason. Instead of Rafa making headlines for his domination on clay each week, the 37-year-old is making them for his extended farewell from the sport.

Most of us assume that, when Nadal does retire, there will be no serious challengers to his title as the King of Clay anytime soon, if ever. His Spanish successor, Carlos Alcaraz, has yet to win Roland Garros even once. But there is another player who is becoming synonymous with spring tennis; perhaps not surprisingly, it’s someone who has idolized Rafa since she picked up a racquet: Iga Swiatek.

May and June have become Peak Iga months on the WTA Tour. Since 2022, she has won all three top-tier WTA clay titles, in Stuttgart, Madrid, and Rome, and at 22 she already has three wins at Roland Garros. As far as titles and winning percentages go, she hasn’t been as all-conquering on dirt as Nadal was at her age. But when she’s good, she has been just as scarily dominant during matches, especially with a lead. Coming into Rome this week, she had won 58 straight matches on clay after taking the first set. As far as bagels and breadsticks go, no one bakes as many for her opponents as Swiatek.

With injuries sidelining the ATP’s superstars, it feels like we’ve reached another Peak Iga moment. She just won Madrid for the first time, with a sensational final-round victory over second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka. She appeared on the latest cover of Elle magazine in Poland. She has been ranked No. 1 for 102 of the past 106 weeks. And while she’s in the middle of a potentially exhausting stretch of tournaments, she sounds like she’s enjoying herself.

“Well, for sure it’s life on tour; it’s pretty crazy being in Madrid, packing straightaway after the final and coming here,” she said this week. “I’m happy to be [in Rome] because I love this place.”

“I love the food. I was literally just eating for the last two days…I like the different vibe that [this tournament] has. The courts, nature that is everywhere. Fans, as well. It’s pretty crazy here usually with the fans. They’re loud and they’re everywhere.”

The fans in center court did get loud after her first match in center court on Thursday. She had just pummeled her latest victim, Bernarda Pera, 6-0, 6-2, and was answering a couple of questions afterward. But that was a couple too many for the crowd, who began to raise a ruckus; it sounded like they wanted to move on to the next match, which featured local favorite Lorenzo Sonego. Briefly confused, Swiatek looked around to see what the noise was about, before flashing a smile. Those crazy Roman fans were at it again.

I just want to enjoy, honestly, being on tour, and not put too much baggage on my shoulders because we have to survive to November. —Iga Swiatek

That was the evening’s only hiccup for Swiatek. She had no trouble adjusting from the faster clay in Madrid to the slower stuff in Rome. In Pera’s opening service game, Swiatek started with a big backhand return to go up 0-15; followed that with a backhand winner to make it 0-30; cracked another strong backhand return for 0-40; and watched as a shaken Pera double-faulted the game away. Swiatek was off to the races. She won the first set in 29 minutes.

“It’s totally different conditions here, different clay,” Swiatek said. “You need to adjust your game, the balls feel a bit more heavy.”

But she also said she knows and loves the courts in Rome, and she has a pair of titles here to prove it. Generally, slower is better for Iga, who is difficult to stop when she has time to set up. Right now, her backhand return might be the most havoc-wreaking shot in tennis. After an up-and-down 2023, Swiatek says she feels more relaxed this season, because she has played consistently well, and has significant titles in Doha, Indian Wells and Madrid to show for it.

“This year I feel pretty comfortable because I felt like I played well,” Swiatek says. “I just want to enjoy, honestly, being on tour, and not put too much baggage on my shoulders because we have to survive to November.”

Swiatek likes to try on new mindsets for size. She’s constantly doing her best to keep her wins and losses in perspective and not, as she said, “put too much baggage on her shoulders.” She’s usually successful at it for a time, but like any other tennis player, she can’t play it cool forever, or dominate her opponents forever. The important thing is that she continues to try to learn from the losses that do eventually come.

The question right now is the same one that Nadal had to answer every spring: Can she make Peak Iga season last through the end of Roland Garros? Would you bet on anyone else holding up the trophy in Rome, or in Paris?