Iga Swiatek earned her first WTA Finals title and the year-end No. 1 ranking by overwhelming Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-0 on Monday in the latest in a series of dominant performances.
From 1-all at the outset, Swiatek seized complete control, collecting the next 11 games with her high-quality baseline game, rarely making an unforced error and repeatedly pressuring Pegula into mistakes.
Swiatek, a 22-year-old from Poland, went 5-0 at the tour's season-closing championship, winning all 10 sets she played and ceding a total of just 20 games.
That's the fewest by the tournament's winner since 2003, when the event for the top eight players in women's tennis returned to a round-robin format; the previous low in that span was the 34 games dropped by Justine Henin in 2007. "We've had many ups and downs, but this is, for sure, an up," Swiatek said, addressing her team during the post-match ceremony.