In the final week of last season, Iga Swiatek’s reward for a solid year was a place among the very best at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara.
After the highs of winning the French Open late in 2020 and the adjustments she made as her whole world changed, Swiatek had enjoyed a good full season as a champion.
But in Mexico she struggled badly. Swiatek lost her first two matches, quickly exiting the event in the group stages. Back then, it still felt like the improvements needed for her to command the hard courts as she had done clay would take some time.
Instead, almost a year later, she is a different player. Swiatek started the season with an unexpected run to the Australian Open semi-finals and she has now won four titles on hard courts this year alone: three WTA 1000 titles and her first US Open title on Saturday.