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Iga Swiatek makes tennis history in brutal Naomi Osaka demolition

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·4-min read
Iga Swaitak, pictured here after demolishing Naomi Osaka to win the Miami Open title.
Iga Swaitak demolished Naomi Osaka to win the Miami Open title. Image: Getty

Iga Swiatek has become the first player in female tennis to win the first three WTA 1000 titles of the year, demolishing Naomi Osaka in the Miami Open final.

The Polish 20-year-old will take Ash Barty's World No.1 ranking in style after keeping her remarkable winning run intact with a 6-4 6-0 win over Osaka on Saturday.

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The second seed, who will take the top spot from the retired Barty on Monday, did not drop a set all week in Miami and has now won 17 consecutive matches dating back to her championship run at the Qatar Open in February.

She is just the fourth woman in history to win the 'Sunshine Double' - going back-to-back at Indian Wells and Miami in California and Florida.

Along with her title in Qatar, she is the first woman to win the first three WTA 1000 events in a calendar year.

"These weeks were so intense I didn't really know if I would able to keep up with the streak that I have," said Swiatek.

"It's amazing for me that I could show mental toughness because my whole life I thought I could do more and sometimes I was losing and I didn't even know why.

"This season I feel like everything clicked so it's great and I am really happy."

Swiatek is the first women to complete the 'Sunshine Double' since Victoria Azarenka in 2016.

Kim Clijsters (2005) and Steffi Graf (1994, 1996) are the only other women to accomplish the feat.

Iga Swiatek, pictured here celebrating with the trophy after winning the Miami Open.
Iga Swiatek celebrates with the trophy after winning the Miami Open. (Photo by Eva Marie Uzcategui Trinkl/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Naomi Osaka returns to form in Miami

Osaka arrived in Florida following a second-round loss at Indian Wells where she was reduced to tears after being heckled by a spectator during the match.

However she proved resilient in Miami and returned to her brilliant best, only dropping one set en route to the final.

On Saturday, the Japanese star did well to hold serve in a tricky 10-minute game to start the match.

While she wasn't able to do much against a determined Swiatek after that, she still held her head high.

Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek, pictured here after the Miami Open final.
Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek embrace after the Miami Open final. (Photo by Eva Marie Uzcategui Trinkl/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

"I haven't been in this position for a little minute," said the 24-year-old, who took a break from the sport last year to prioritise her mental health.

"I know this isn't the outcome that you guys wanted but I am having a lot of fun out here so I hope that I can keep working hard and get more opportunities to be in a situation like this again."

Swiatek will officially take over the top ranking from Barty on Monday.

The Aussie star stunned the sporting world last month when she announced her retirement from tennis aged 25.

Tennis fans have been left gutted that they'll never see the Barty-Swiatek-Osaka rivalry play out properly.

with AAP

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