Iga Swiatek wins first grand slam for Poland with French Open title

Iga Swiatek won not only her first grand slam, but her first WTA title, in a battle of youth

The 19-year-old defeated 21-year-old Sofia Kenin, 6-4, 6-1 in dominating fashion.

Iga Swiatek had never won a WTA title. That is, until now. Unseeded coming into the French Open, 19-year-old Swiatek has just become the first player from Poland to win a grand slam, 6-4, 6-1, a commanding victory over American Sofia (‘Sonya’) Kenin.

Unheralded and unexpected, Iga Swiatek arrived at this year’s post-pandemic shutdown under everyone’s radar. This included her own. Having just graduated high school, the young Polish tennis star wasn’t even committed to pursuing tennis as a full-time career. She was on the fence about the sport, but after thrilling sports fans with her resilient run at Roland Garros, it is doubtful she will ever doubt her future in tennis again.

Ranked only No. 54, Iga Swiatek won the battle of youth, running out of the gate kicking, getting to a 3-0 lead over Kenin from the outset. The fighter that she is, Kenin managed to fight back to 4-3 scoreboard, trying to even up the bout. But the Polish player was just too good, too confident, just astonishing really. The recent high school graduate maintained her momentum by getting the first set, 6-4, and never looked back.

The impending loss started to get to Kenin, who called an injury timeout after the crushing first set blow, prompting commentator Mary Carillo to question her reasoning, saying that “it feels a little sketchy,” at which point her co-commentator John McEnroe jumped in to say that “it’s within the rules.” It didn’t matter, really. Swiatek barreled straight ahead, dominating the second for the historic win over Kenin.

The French Open win completed Swiatek’s astonishing run at the tournament. Without losing a set throughout the event, including a shock win over world No. 2 (and 2018 French Open champion) Simona Halep in the fourth round.

https://twitter.com/WTA/status/1314941351113486340

Throughout the Roland Garros fortnight, Swiatek displayed precision skills of a seasoned champion, including her powerful, kicking forehand, which became an unanswerable weapon in the final with Kenin. Her shots found all the corners and overwhelmed the American player.

Iga Swiatek’s uplifting win concludes the women’s grand slam season in a truly weird year. The 19-year-old is another example of the depth of youthful talent on the women’s side. The slam win will propel Swiatek into the Top 20 come Monday.

I think it’s safe to say that Iga Swiatek sees a very bright future in tennis.

Stay tuned here for news on the men’s final, which promises to be an epic showdown for grand slam records. The men’s final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic takes place on Sunday, Oct. 11, 9:00 a.m. ET.