While Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova’s on-court rivalry was a stuff of legends, they also share a relationship built on shared mutual respect off the court. This was evident when five-time major winner, Sharapova, was inducted into the Hall of Fame ahead of this year’s US Open by… yes, Serena. “Honestly, it’s great,” Iga Świątek, the current world no. 2, had said of the moment. And now, she is poised to join the two legends after her ongoing run at the Wuhan Open.

Świątek reached a milestone after defeating Belinda Bencic on October 9, 2025, in Wuhan. The Polish star came from behind to beat Bencic 7–6(2), 6–4 in the third round. After dropping a few early games in the first set, she steadied herself and took the tiebreak. In the second set, Świątek broke Bencic’s serve and held her nerve to close out the match. This victory marked Świątek’s 125th WTA 1000-level win and advanced her to the quarterfinals, where she will face Jasmine Paolini. With that, she is now the third player to reach 25 WTA 1000-level quarterfinals, measured by the fewest main draw appearances.

The Polish tennis star did it in 41 tournaments. Serena Williams tops the list, having touched this milestone in 32 tournaments, while Maria Sharapova follows her in 39. If we talk about these 41 tournaments, it is worth mentioning that she secured her first Cincinnati Open title in 2025 by defeating Jasmine Paolini 7–5, 6–4. Then there’s also the performance at the 2025 Wimbledon.

In a historic final, she defeated Amanda Anisimova 6–0, 6–0 in just 57 minutes, marking the first double bagel in a Wimbledon women’s final in the Open Era and the first since 1911. Though Anisimova avenged this loss in the quarterfinals of the US Open (4–6, 3-6), still reaching the QF contributed to Świątek’s record. Other than this, she was in the QF of the Korean Open as well. She won Indian Wells in 2024 and to Alexandra Eala in the semifinals of the Miami Open the same year. The list goes on. Though she did not enter the history books with only one record.

With this win over Bencic in the Wuhan Open, the 24-year-old is now the ninth player to reach the quarterfinals or above of all 10 WTA 1000 tournaments. Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Petra Kvitova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, and Carolina Wozniacki are the ones to have touched the milestone before her.

The records keep breaking for Swiatek as she joins Serena Williams in another milestone.

Iga Świątek has joined Serena Williams in the record books before

The 2024 season saw the Polish tennis star in her prime, as she claimed victory over four WTA-1000 titles. The first one came in February, where she defeated Maria Sakkari by 6–4, 6–0 to win the Qatar Open. She carried this momentum to the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, again overcoming Sakkari 6–4, 6–0, losing only 21 games throughout the tournament. Then there was a victory in the Madrid Open, beating Aryna Sabalenka 6–4, 6–3, followed by another win over Elena Rybakina 6–2, 6–2 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

The win in Rome made sure that Iga Świątek was the third player to win 10 career WTA 1000 titles. Only Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka preceded her in this record, but the twist here is that the American did it at 32 years of age, while Azarenka was 31. The Polish tennis star did it in just 22 years. And this is not just it, she is also the second all-time winner in the WTA 1000 format history with 11 titles, trailing only Williams (23).

After the 2025 China Open, Iga Świątek had a 122–28 record (81.33% win rate), with only Serena Williams having a stronger start at 131–19 in her first 150 matches. The Polish tennis star is following the footsteps left behind on the court by Serena Williams. While catching up to the legend is a mammoth task, never say never.