One year ago today: Iga Swiatek officially replaces Ashleigh Barty as new world No 1

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• WTA Tennis

One year ago today Iga Swiatek officially became the world No 1 for the first time in her career. After winning the 2022 Indian Wells title, Swiatek reached the world No 2 spot for the first time in her career. Shortly after, Ashleigh Barty - who at the time had a very comfortable lead at the top spot - announced she was retiring and requested her name to be removed from the WTA rankings.

Swiatek and Maria Sakkari had the best chance of replacing Barty at the top spot after the 2022 Miami Open. Since Sakkari lost early, Swiatek knew she would become the new world No 1 even before winning Miami. But on April 4th, 2022, Swiatek officially rose to the world No 1 spot.

Since then, there haven't been any changes at the world No 1 spot. This Monday, Swiatek entered her 53rd consecutive week at the top spot.

Swiatek's message on becoming the world No 1

On this day a year ago, Swiatek posted a message reflecting on her path to becoming the world No 1.

"It's official today and I want to give myself, my family, my team, and partners a moment to celebrate it and to be happy about it. I usually don't focus on numbers, on rankings, but this moment is huge to me as I have become the first Polish, female or male, tennis player to reach the top spot in singles.

I hope maybe one day there will be more of us in Poland playing tennis at the highest possible level. I'm extremely grateful that my work could be an inspiration for some people. And last but not least. I love the game and appreciate every moment of it these days," Swiatek posted on April 4th last year.

Swiatek currently has 8,975 points, while second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka has 6,945 points. Swiatek is expected to kick off her clay season in Stuttgart, where she is the defending champion - the tournament starts on April 17th.