Iga Swiatek climbed to No. 5 in the WTA rankings and surpassed Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova for a historic clay-court record. The Polish star achieved the milestone under new coach Francisco Roig, demonstrating resilience through an 11-month title drought and a demanding Hard-Court Swing.
Iga Swiatek has once again mastered the art of the bounce-back. Since first ascending to World No. 1 in April 2022, the Polish star has dropped outside the Top 5 on only two occasions. Both times, she returned after a strong showing in her very next tournament. In 2025, Swiatek fell to No. 8 after dropping the points from her 2024 Roland Garros title. Three weeks later, she climbed back to No. 4 after reaching the Bad Homburg final, before returning to the Top 3 after winning her first Wimbledon title. Just over a year later, the loss of those Wimbledon points sent Swiatek back to No. 8 again, but a triumphant run at the National Bank Open title in Toronto ended an 11-month title drought.
Climbing Rankings and Dominating Finals
The Toronto victory marked the 26th singles title of Swiatek’s career on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. Driven by this hard-court surge, Swiatek climbs five spots to No. 5 in the WTA rankings. Of the 15 biggest tournaments on the calendar—the four Grand Slams, the WTA Finals, and the 10 WTA 1000s—Swiatek, at age 25, has now won 12 of them at least once. Only the Australian Open, Dubai, and Wuhan remain missing from her trophy cabinet.
Swiatek’s run highlights her remarkable composure in championship matches. Her career record in finals stands at 26-5, giving her an 84% winning percentage that leads the current Top 5. Among her peers, Coco Gauff holds the next-best winning percentage at 69% (11-5), followed by Aryna Sabalenka at 55% (24-20), Elena Rybakina at 50% (13-13), and Jessica Pegula at 46% (11-13).
Surpassing Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova on Clay
Swiatek’s dominance extends deeply onto clay surfaces, where she recently set a formidable benchmark. According to Opta Ace reporting, no player has claimed more wins from their first 11 main draw appearances at clay-court WTA-1000 events than Swiatek. With a tally of 39 wins, she surpassed the previous joint record holders, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, who both recorded 37.
Swiatek has four clay-court WTA 1000 trophies to her name, having triumphed at the Italian Open three times and the Madrid Open once, alongside a runner-up finish in Madrid. In addition to these WTA 1000 victories, Swiatek has won Roland Garros four times, tying her with Justine Henin for the third most in the Open Era, trailing only Steffi Graf with six and Chris Evert with seven.
Working With a New Coaching Regime
These milestones arrive just weeks after hiring a new coach, Francisco Roig, following her split from Wim Fissette in March. The partnership endured an early test when Swiatek suffered an early exit in Stuttgart after a loss to Mirra Andreeva, but the pairing quickly found its footing on clay and hard courts alike.
The Race for the Top Ranking and Wider Tour Movements
While Swiatek makes her ascent, the race for the World No. 1 ranking remains intensely competitive. Aryna Sabalenka held onto the top spot by reaching the fourth round in Toronto, but Elena Rybakina narrowed the gap to just 54 points with a run to her fourth final of the season. Rybakina will have another opportunity to claim the top ranking at the upcoming tournament in Cincinnati.
Elsewhere in the rankings, Liudmila Samsonova climbed 12 spots from No. 55 to No. 43 to return to the Top 50 after reaching the Toronto fourth round. Taylor Townsend rose 16 places from No. 110 to No. 94 to re-enter the Top 100, while 19-year-old Alina Korneeva jumped 14 places to No. 75, matching her career high following a stellar run through qualifying to the Toronto fourth round.
