Poland’s Iga Swiatek succeeds Ash Barty as world number one

Poland’s Iga Swiatek has taken over as world number one following a 6-2 6-0 win over Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland in the second round of the Miami Open.

The 20-year-old – who is the first Polish player to hold the distinction – was only elevated to world number two after winning the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells last week.

Following Friday’s win, she became the youngest player to make her number one debut since Caroline Wozniacki, who was 216 days younger, in 2010. Swiatek is also currently the WTA’s most in-form player and is on a career-best 12-match winning streak and has a tour-high 21 wins this year, with WTA 1000 titles in Doha and Indian Wells.

Following her ascension to the top spot, which comes just days after Ash Barty’s shock retirement, Swiatek called her new ranking “surreal”.

“I’m pretty sure that tomorrow the sun will shine exactly the same way as today but for now…it feels surreal. No.1!!” Swiatek wrote on Twitter following her win.

Her number one ranking will be recorded officially once the tournament is over and Barty is removed – per the Australian’s request. The 25-year-old, who revealed her shock retirement on Wednesday, asked to be removed from the ranking which she has held since November 2019.

“The thing is, I never really imagined that moment because, truth to be told, I was working day-by-day and playing tennis well,” she said later in a press conference. “But I never had the strong belief that it can actually happen. So, it’s even more surreal for me.

“I loved every moment of it. It doesn’t matter for me if there were fireworks. The crowd was really supportive, they were really excited. I’m just soaking everything in because I didn’t have any expectations.”

The Pole is the 28th woman to