The statistics that defined 2022 – inside Iga Swiatek’s mind-blowing 37-match winning streak

It’s easy to run out of superlatives when talking about Iga Swiatek’s 2022 season, but it’s not easy to run out of statistics to back up her dominance.

Poland’s Iga Swiatek poses in front of the Eiffel Tower with the trophy after winning the women’s singles French Open title (AI/Reuters/Panoramic)

Chris Oddo

December 22, 2022

2022 may have started as the year of Ash Barty, but when all was said and done it was Iga Swiatek who stormed to the top of the rankings and dominated the tour in a way that we have not seen since Serena Williams last played in her prime.

Barty retired in late March, setting the stage for Swiatek to take over at the top of the WTA rankings. What happened next was eye-opening, awe-inspiring and downright historical.

37 on the trot – a run for the ages

When Barty retired Swiatek’s winning streak had already begun. Three months later, when the Polish juggernaut took the court at Wimbledon, it was still going…

Swiatek’s 37-match jaunt would last 135 days in total, a time in which Swiatek climbed to the No 1 ranking and won her second Roland-Garros title.

Swiatek’s victory over Coco Gauff in the Roland-Garros final stretched the streak to 35, which tied her with Venus Williams for the longest winning streak since 2000.

She would extend the streak at Wimbledon, winning two more matches to tie Martina Hingis for the longest streak since 1997, before falling to France’s Alizé Cornet in the third round.

Together with Hingis, Swiatek now owns the longest WTA match winning streak since Steffi Graf in 1990.

Iga Swiatek Rome 2022 — Tennis – WTA 1000 – Italian Open – Foro Italico, Rome, Italy – May 15, 2022 Poland’s Iga Swiatek in action during the final against Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur || 230723_0009

Six straight titles!

During her remarkable run, Swiatek racked up six consecutive titles – in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome and Roland-Garros – to become just the third player this century to win six consecutive titles (also Venus Williams and Justine Henin).

28 sets in a row, and dominance vs the elite

At one point during the streak, Swiatek captured 28 sets in a row (between Indian Wells and Roland Garros), which marks the longest such set streak since Serena Williams also won 28 sets in a row between 2012 and 2013.

Swiatek went 74-7 in sets during the streak, and handed out a 6-0 bagel to her opponent in 16 of them. She went 8-0 against the top-10 during the streak and never dropped a single set against her elite foes. In fact, in her eight matches against the top-10 during the streak, she only dropped more than three games in a set three times, and never dropped more than four games in a set.

Swiatek went 13-0 against the top-20 during the streak and dropped just one set, to Angelique Kerber at Indian Wells.

Iga Swiatek of Poland during the champions trophy shoot after winning the final of the 2022 BNP Paribas Open WTA 1000 tennis tournament — Iga Swiatek_Indian Wells_2022

Even more lethal in finals

Swiatek was at her best on finals day, as she dropped just 23 games across the six finals she played during the streak, and never lost more than four games in a set.

When all was said and done the message had been sent loud and clear to the rest of the WTA. Iga Swiatek is the real deal and, at the age of 21, has established herself as the most dominant player since Serena Williams.

No matter which way you slice it, Iga Swiatek was the story of the 2022 WTA season, and she’ll be the player to beat when 2023 rolls around.