Iga Swiatek believes both she and Aryna Sabalenka have earned the right to occupy the top two places in the WTA rankings due to the effort they have put into the sport.
The three-time Grand Slam champion locked horns with Sabalenka on Saturday at the Madrid Open where she suffered a roller-coaster 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 loss in the final. It is only the third time she has been defeated by the Belarussian and the first time she has been defeated by her on the clay. The outcome was a stark contrast to their previous meeting in Stuttgart last month where Swiatek only dropped seven games en route to winning the title.
Despite missing out on the trophy, the Pole refused to find excuses for her latest loss on the Tour. She has now won 13 out of 17 WTA finals contested so far in her career compared to Sabalenka who has won 13 out of 23 contested.
“I don’t want to blame my loss on conditions or something else,” said Swiatek.
“Sometimes it’s tougher; sometimes it’s easier. That’s why we have variety in tennis, and that’s why sometimes players are playing better on some surfaces and some on different.’
“But it doesn’t really matter because she won and I just respect that and I don’t want to kind of take it from Aryna.”
Swiatek’s rivalry with Sabalenka on the clay this season is in some way a milestone for the sport. Since 1984, there have only been two other seasons where the top two players on the women’s Tour have faced each other in the final of a clay court tournament on multiple occasions. That was Martina Navratilova against Chris Evert in 1984 and Serena Williams against Maria Sharapova in 2013.
Speaking about her consistency on the Tour, Swiatek says she doesn’t overthink her current position and tries to look at other factors to continue motivating her. Adding that her and Sabalenka’s current ranking is a product of their hard work.
“It’s just a matter of not thinking about it that you’re gonna stay here, but it’s more like reaching to other stuff that can motivate you and that you can do better no matter what position you’re in.” She explained.
“Me and Aryna, I feel like we’re just hard workers. I know that she’s super professional as well in terms of fitness and other stuff. We’re kind of progressing no matter if we’re on top or not, so I think that’s why we are kind of solid.”
Weighing in on the topic during her press conference in Madrid, Sabalenka believes her rivalry with Swiatek is something the women’s game needs. Since 2019, she has defeated a world No.1 player on four different occasions.
“I think women’s tennis needs this kind of consistency to see world No. 1 and world No. 2 facing in the finals,” Sabalenka commented.
“It’s more enjoyable for fans to watch and it’s more intense. I’m not saying that it’s not intense with the rest of the players. If a player reaches the final, it means that he’s in good shape and it’s going to be tough. But I think when people see these kinds of finals, it makes them want to see this battle.’
“That’s something amazing, and hopefully we can keep doing what we are doing this season.”
There will be little time to rest with the Italian Open set to get underway on Monday. Swiatek is the reigning champion and Sabalenka will be aiming to improve on her run to the semi-finals of the tournament 12 months ago.
