Jessica Pegula acknowledged Iga Swiatek had “an incredible 2022 season” but noted it won’t be easy for the Pole or anyone else to pull off such a dominant season again. Last year, Swiatek won 37 consecutive matches between February and July – with that she set a new record for the most consecutive wins on the WTA Tour in the 21st century.
Also during that span, Swiatek won six consecutive titles. Pegula, who managed to beat Swiatek at the start of the season at the United Cup, suggests Swiatek could be tested this year because some other names such as Aryna Sabalenka are on the rise.
However, Pegula underlined that Swiatek is still the one to beat in the women’s game.
Pegula on Swiatek: We will find out but she is still the one to beat
“I think we’ll find out. I think Doha is where [Iga Swiatek] started her really big run.
Obviously she’s still playing at a very high level. She definitely loves playing in Doha, found her form there at a really, again, high level. So we’ll see. I’m not saying [Iga Swiatek] can’t do exactly what she did last year. I don’t think anyone, at least I’m not expecting it because that was incredible.
I’m sure she’s still going to play some great tennis and she’s definitely playing like a true No. 1, and she’s the one to beat. I guess we’ll see as the year unfolds where it goes. But I think there’s a lot of players playing well.
I know Aryna’s confidence has got to be sky high. She had a great win today. It will be interesting to see how, yeah, those storylines kind of shift going in throughout the year,” Pegula said, per Sportskeeda. After losing to Swiatek four times last year, Pegula dismantled the Pole 6-2 6-2 at the inaugural United Cup. Last week, Swiatek got her revenge as she ousted Pegula 6-3 6-0 in the Doha final.
