Iga Swiatek Equals Massive Venus Williams Record With French Open Final Win
Iga Swiatek now has 35 wins in a row, the joint-longest winning streak by a women's player in the 21st century along with Venus Williams, who had achieved the feat in 2000.
Iga Swiatek cruised past teen star Coco Gauff with a 6-1, 6-3 win in the French Open 2022 women's singles final to claim her second Roland Garros title on Saturday. The Pole now has 35 wins on the trot, matching Venus Williams' record for the longest winning streak by a women's player in the 21st century. Venus Williams won five WTA titles and the Olympic gold medal during her unbeaten run at the start of the century, which no one has improved on since.
Swiatek, who turned 21 on Tuesday, has embarked on a brilliant run of form which has seen her win six consecutive tournaments since a last-16 defeat by Jelena Ostapenko in Dubai in February.
Since then she has risen from world number seven to the top of the rankings, albeit partly aided by previous incumbent Ashleigh Barty's shock retirement.
Swiatek has lifted four WTA 1,000 titles in that time -- in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami and Rome -- and now has a second French Open crown of her career.
In the final against Gauff, Swiatek started strong and didn't let her opponent in with a whiff. She took the first set with ease and also came back strong in the second after being broken in the very first game.
She wrapped up the win in an hour and eight minutes.
The Pole will turn her attention to the grass-court season and Wimbledon, with a 36th straight win in her sights.
However, the all-time longest unbeaten run -- Martina Navratilova's 74-match streak in 1984 -- remains a long way off.
With inputs from AFP