PARIS: Teenager Iga Swiatek (pix) became the first Polish player to win a Grand Slam singles title when she beat American fourth seed Sofia Kenin 6-4 6-1 in the French Open final on Saturday.
The 19-year-old, who did not drop a set throughout the claycourt tournament, is the youngest winner since Monica Seles lifted the Suzanne Lenglen Cup in 1992.
Swiatek raced into a 3-0 lead for the loss of just three points before Kenin got into her groove, only for the Pole to bag the opening set on her opponent's serve after another trade of breaks.
Kenin received an off-court medical treatment on her left thigh after the third game of the second set and world number 54 Swiatek went on to win the remaining games to claim the title. – Reuters
IGA SWIATEK
Age: 19
Nation: Poland
WTA ranking: 54 (Highest ranking: 48)
Seeding: Unseeded
Grand Slam titles: 1 (French Open 2020)
Road to final
1st round: 15-Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic) 6-1 6-2
2nd round: Hsieh Su-wei (Taiwan) 6-1 6-4
3rd round: Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) 6-3 6-2
4th round: 1-Simona Halep (Romania) 6-1 6-2
QF: Martina Trevisan (Italy) 6-3 6-1
SF: Nadia Podoroska (Argentina) 6-2 6-1
Early life
» Born in Warsaw. Her father Tomasz is a former Olympic rower, who competed in the men’s quadruple sculls event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.
» Started playing tennis in an attempt to emulate her older sister Agata, who competed briefly on the junior circuit.
» Swiatek helped Poland lift the Junior Fed Cup title in 2016 before winning Junior Wimbledon in 2018, the same year she secured the gold medal with Kaja Juvan in doubles at the Youth Olympics.
Career to date
» She began her professional career on the ITF Circuit in 2016 and won all seven singles finals she contested over the next two years.
» Made her first Grand Slam main draw appearance at the 2019 Australian Open and defeated Ana Bogdan in the opening round before losing to Camila Giorgi.
» Had her breakthrough later that year, reaching her first WTA final at the Ladies Open in Lugano. Despite losing to Polona Hercog, she entered the top 100 for the first time.
» Advanced to the fourth round of the 2019 French Open in just her second major tournament, losing to defending champion Simona Halep.
» Defeated American Kenin on Saturday to become the youngest women’s French Open champion since Monica Seles in 1992.
