Poland’s
Iga Swiatek is facing an uphill task in reclaiming
the number one spot in women’s tennis as
Aryna Sabalenka is likely to remain atop for some time to come. The 23-year-old is regarded as one of the
best players currently playing in women’s tennis in the singles category.
Swiatek was the world number one for a long time but lost
the spot to Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka. That happened largely because she did not
take part in any events after Wimbledon last year and subsequently lost some
key rating points.
Since then, Swiatek has had a rough time on the court and
has struggled to produce good results consistently. That only meant that she is
now facing an uphill task in reclaiming the top spot in women’s tennis. The route
is going to get even tougher going forward as she is set to lose more points in
the upcoming competition.
In the month of March, two mega-events will be played — the Indian
Wells and the Miami Open. Swiatek is set to lose at least 1,100 points as she
had a fabulous run last year where she won one competition and reached the
fourth round of the other one. Losing those points will make it nearly impossible
for the five-time Grand Slam winner to return to the top any time soon. Swiatek
lifted the Indian Wells competition last year after beating Greece’s Maria Sakkari
in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-0.
Swiatek is going through a difficult time this season as
well. She featured in the Australian Open where she was knocked out after losing
in the semifinal to America’s Madison Keys with a score of 5-7, 6-1, 7-6. She
then featured in the Qatar Open, where she lost in the semifinal again, this
time Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-1. Her last
appearance was in the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships, where she was knocked
out after losing to Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinal in straight
sets with a score of 6-3, 6-3.