The tennis world seems to run into a few unstoppable forces every so often. Over the last two decades, that has often been Serena Williams and Venus Williams. It appears the guard is now officially changing toward the future.
On Tuesday, reigning French Open champ and the current world No. 1 in Iga Świątek cruised through an opening match against Jana Fett during the first round of Wimbledon 2022. In the process, the 21-year-old Świątek teased the potential for more glory in the future.
How, you might ask? You see, Świątek’s win over Fett was her 36th consecutive victory. That is the most in the 21st century, notably surpassing both of the Williams sisters’ top-ever streaks:
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/XlnSaVcLsE
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 28, 2022
It's official: Iga Swiatek has the longest win streak of the century. pic.twitter.com/Odnu2Y8pia
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) June 28, 2022
Wow. For additional context, Świątek could soon possess the second-longest winning streak with two more wins. That would break Martina Hingis’s best mark (37), which ended in 1997. (Świątek still has a ways to go to challenge the longest streak of 74 — set by Martina Navratilova in 1984.)
Many consider the Williams sisters to be two of the best tennis players of all time. Hingis and Navratilova are no slouches in the greatness department, either. That Świątek surpasses some of their best achievements or is even being mentioned in passing alongside them probably portends great things for her future.
Like, say, her first title at Wimbledon.
Before it started, oddsmakers with Tipico Sportsbook gave Świątek the best odds to win Wimbledon (+125). She is +135 to win her second-round matchup against Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove on Thursday. In hindsight, with all we know now, both of those projections seem very low.
Świątek is already making tennis history. If she’s emulating living legends, she might be the safest bet to win a Grand Slam in a while.
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