Iga Swiatek has a chance to make a bit of history at this week’s WTA 1000 tournament in Doha but insists she is not pressuring herself.
The Pole, who hasn’t won any titles since landing her fifth Grand Slam title at the French Open in early June, returned to the Qatar Open as the defending champion.
And if she makes it all the way in Doha this week, she will claim her fourth consecutive title at the United Arab Emirates event.
So far this century, only Caroline Wozniacki managed to win one tournament in four successive years – the former Danish world No. 1 won New Haven four times between 2008 and 2011.
Now, Swiatek – who has a first-round bye at the Qatar Open – has a chance to become the second player to achieve that feat in the 21st century.
But the last half a year hasn’t been easy for the Pole, who is on an eight-month title drought.
Swiatek asked if she feels pressure to finally win a WTA title again
“No. I know how tennis works. It doesn’t always depend on you if you win titles or not. You just have to put 100 percent effort and commitment and you’ll get your chances if you play well and if you work hard,” the world No. 2 responded.
“For sure, it will be nice to win some tournaments, but it’s never helpful to think about it before. You have to focus on every match specifically and do it step by step, so I’m going to try to do that again.”
On Sunday, Maria Sakkari beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the Doha first round and set up a second-round meeting against Swiatek.
The head-to-head between them stands at 3-3 but it should be noted that the Pole has won all of their three matches that have taken place since 2022.
Tennis World USA