Iga Swiatek began her 2025 WTA Finals campaign in Riyadh with a characteristically dominant performance, defeating Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2 in a commanding straight-sets victory. This win extends a truly remarkable statistic in her career: Swiatek is now undefeated in her opening matches at WTA events for four consecutive years. Her streak encompasses an incredible 69 tournaments since her last opening-match loss to Maria Sakkari at the 2021 WTA Finals in Guadalajara, a run that includes United Cup and WTA Finals appearances and underscores her unparalleled consistency on the tour.

Following the match, Swiatek reflected on her performance in an on-court interview, as reported by The Tennis Letter on X. She expressed satisfaction with her ability to execute her game plan, stating, “Honestly, about everything, kind of. Just how I kind of, like, I don’t know, all the things that I practice, just I got it together, you know, today to play with the right balance in terms of being solid and aggressive.”

This comment highlights the technical success of her aggressive hard-court strategy, an initiative she has worked on with coach Wim Fissette to handle faster balls more effectively. She further credited her recent training, adding, “So I’m overall happy with the work that I’ve put after the China swing, especially in Warsaw. So that gives me for sure confidence to go forward and to, yeah, just develop as a player. So I’m happy that I could bring my game today, and I’ll be ready to do that next days.”

She did have a tough time in Beijing due to her early exit at the China Open, where she fell to Emma Navarro, making this strong response in Riyadh a significant mental and professional rebound.

This victory against Keys is more than just a strong start to a single tournament; it is a testament to a period of sustained excellence that is rare in modern tennis. Her clinical win, where she converted five of eight break points and won the match in just 61 minutes, demonstrates that she is peaking at the right time. However, are you aware that the Polish tennis star qualified for the WTA Finals with a unique feat?

The path to glory has been filled with ups and downs for Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek is at the top of the WTA Tour with 61 wins in 2025. So, guess what? She’s the first player to rack up 60 or more wins in four consecutive seasons, from 2022 to 2025! It hasn’t happened since Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport pulled it off more than twenty years ago! Things really shifted when Iga Swiatek showed up at Roland Garros this year as the obvious favorite. It felt like a fourth straight Paris crown and a fifth career major were just around the corner.

Aryna Sabalenka turned the tables, knocking her out in a nail-biting three-set semifinal. Instead of taking a quiet break, Swiatek decided to dive back into Bad Homburg for the second time in three years. Her 15-8 career record on grass seemed pretty solid, even if it wasn’t really where she felt most at home. In Germany, she fought her way to the final but ended up losing to Jessica Pegula.

Even with all the heartbreak, Iga Swiatek bounced back and totally owned Wimbledon! She totally dominated Amanda Anisimova, winning the final 6-0, 6-0. That win put her among just eight women who have claimed majors on hard, clay, and grass courts, bringing her Grand Slam total up to six. She also surpassed Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis, who both ended their careers with five. But it hasn’t all been easy going.

Swiatek, along with a few other stars, had a bit of a showdown with the WTA regarding the new mandatory event rules. So, she lost 65 points, Keys dropped 54, and then Sabalenka, Gauff, and Anisimova each lost 10 points. Despite that setback, Swiatek is sitting at 8,195 points in the Race to the WTA Finals and ended up going up against Madison Keys. Now that she’s moved on to the next round, we’ll just have to wait and see if she can maintain her strong performance.