World No. 1 Iga Swiatek wins her third major title at the US Open on Monday and will continue playing on the WTA Tour next season.
Swiatek beat Petra Kvitova 7-5, 6-4 in straight sets and advanced to the third round of the Wimbledon singles.
For the second day in a row, the 18-year-old from Poland-Lithuania won a third consecutive major title.
Swiatek, who is ranked No. 734, is the youngest winner of a grand slam singles title since Anna Kournikova in 2004 and her third major title after also winning the Wimbledon crown in 2012.
Swiatek, who won the WTA title at the Australian Open in January, is the second youngest woman to score a grand slam title when she is 18 years, six months and 20 days old, following in the footsteps of Martina Navratilova, who won the U.S. Open and Wimbledon titles at 18 years, two months and 10 days.
In addition, she is the oldest teenager to win a grand slam tournament, as she took down former French Open champion Alizé Cornet in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in May at the ripe age of 20.
After the tournament, American Sports Illustrated wrote about Swiatek’s performance in such a big tournament.
“What I liked most about her run was that, to my eyes, she was the real deal,” said Svetlana Kuznetsova, who was a wild card entry. “She’s a very, very strong player, but then she is great with the court, and I love watching her play tennis.”
Swiatek ended up beating Kvitova, who was the 2013 and 2015 US Open finalist, in three sets, winning the first set despite falling behind 4-1 in the second. Kvitova was broken twice in the third set and needed
