Poland’s tennis sensation Iga Świątek has become the new women’s world number one in the sport following her victory at the Miami Open against Naomi Osaka.
The 20-year-old won the tournament in Miami without dropping a set, sweeping aside the four-time Grand Slam winner in the final.
Świątek becomes the first ever Polish singles player to be ranked the best in the world.
The young Pole played superbly in the final, leaving her Japanese opponent exasperated and devoid of ideas. Only the first set proved to be competitive, with the first game lasting 11 minutes.
In the fifth game of the match, Świątek broke Osaka’s serve to go 3-2 ahead and ultimately take the first set. Osaka could not match Świątek, and the second set proved to be a formality.
The Polish tennis star has now won her third WTA 1000 tournament this year, and been victorious in 17 successive matches. She has also become the fourth woman to win the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments in one go, achieving a feat called the “Sunshine Double.”
The speeches after Saturday’s match made it clear that the two ladies have a friendly relationship as they revealed they even go out for dinner together occasionally.
Iga also mentioned Ukraine in her speech saying: “I hope that Ukraine will be free soon,” to which the crowd applauded and cheered. Winning in Miami also paid off financially – the main prize was $1,231,245.
Now Światek can rest, as right after the triumph in Miami she announced that she will not take part in the Charleston tournament. “After the marathon of playing three tournaments, where I played in the finals, I suffered from a minor hand injury,” she explained to the tournament’s organizers.
