WTA: Are we already in the Swiatek era? Not so fast!
Iga Swiatek is the dominant player of the 2022 season. Examples from the recent past show that it doesn't have to stay that way.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Sep 13, 2022, 03:47 pm
Jump back in time, either to 2019 or 2022, but in each case immediately after the end of the Australian Open. It was reasonable to assume that Naomi Osaka would fill in Serena Williams' footsteps, the Japanese was so dominant at the US Open and a few months later at the Australian Open. Osaka would now dominate the scene at will, many thought. For various reasons this did not work.
Or: Who doesn't remember Bianca Andreescu's victory in Flushing Meadows? The Canadian had already triumphed in Indian Wells and at the 1000s at home in 2019, and a dominant figure in women's tennis was once again emerging. But that season already showed that Andreescu was repeatedly plagued by injury problems. That has not changed to this day.
The message is clear: As successful as Iga Swiatek has been during the current campaign, crowned on Saturday with her second Grand Slam title of the season, it would probably be too early to announce a new era. Although Swiatek looks physically and mentally more stable compared to Osaka and Andreescu.
Swiatek with extreme forehand grip
This can be seen with the naked eye and also in numbers: the trained eye of the tennis fan shows that nobody has moved across the court as quickly as Swiatek since Stefanie Graf's glory years. From time to time it seems that she is almost too fast on the ball - and then has too much time to think. The mental strength of the Polish is also shown by the fact that she has not lost a single set in all seven finals this year.
On the other hand, Jule Niemeier, Aryna Sabalenka and, at times, Ons Jabeur have shown how Iga Swiatek can be dealt with: with fast balls in their forehand. Now two things have come together in New York: firstly, the fact that Swiatek is playing such an extreme western grip, which has not been seen since the days of Kent Carlsson or Alberto Berasategui. who can remember. Combined with the fast courts at the National Tennis Center, this resulted in many occasions where Swiatek just couldn't handle her swinging motion. And, to quote John McEnroe, in the match against Niemeier it didn't help that Swiatek wanted to hammer every ball into the field at 100 miles per hour.
It is all the more remarkable that Iga Swiatek was able to do so much with these rather unfavorable conditions. And perhaps a sign that we have long been in the Swiatek era.