Iga Swiatek of Poland beat Maria Sakkari in straight sets in the final of the BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells for the 2022 season and took home her fifth career title.
The 20-year-old has now snatched his first two WTA 1000 level titles of the 2022 season after winning the Qatar Open three weeks ago in Doha.
With the win over Sakkari, the 2020 French Open champion bagged an 11-game winning streak and overall this season he’s recorded a 20-3 record. In addition, the victory brought the 20-year-old tennis player to occupy the world number 2, equaling compatriot, Agnieszka Radwanska as Polish women’s tennis player with the highest ranking to date.
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“Right now it feels pretty surreal,” admits Iga Swiatek. “I have to see it and I have to check the rankings by myself. It’s so unreal at the moment to describe it. But of course want to aim for higher rankings, because I feel world No. 1 is getting closer and closer.”
Now, the Polish national is the first woman since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009 to win five or more titles before turning 21. To date, she has won the French Open 2020, Adelaide International 2021, Italian Open 2021, Qatar Open 2022 and BNP Paribas Open 2022. She joins world number 1 Ashleigh Barty as a woman who has won two titles this season. this.
Asked about the most important thing to take away from a successful week at the BNP Paribas Open, Swiatek replied, “It’s hard to pick one, because every day is amazing. Obviously, I feel a little more stressed in the last few days because this tournament is one of the biggest tournaments after the Grand Slams. So, I’m quite proud of myself.”
“I think the biggest thing I’ll take from the last two weeks is trusting myself because it’s not easy to believe in yourself when you’re a perfectionist and when the competition is so big. But I’m quite proud of myself that I was able to do it.”
Regarding winning two tournaments in a row for the first time, Iga Swiatek added, “The first half was more shaky than usual, especially with the conditions here and the difference we had, because Doha was so humid. At the start of this tournament, I actually spoke to my coach about how things were here and just gaining experience. I don’t treat this tournament like one where I could actually make a semi-final here or have high goals.”
“So, I really went through it step by step. I don’t put too much pressure on myself because of the difference. Game by game I feel it is more and more possible and that is what happened. I do not know. I just kind of let it flow.”
