American former tennis player believes Iga Swiatek is in no hurry to reclaim World No.1 spot from Aryna Sabalenka – “It’s obviously not a priority for her”
Retired American pro Andy Roddick is of the opinion that Polish superstar Iga Swiatek is in no rush to take back the World No.1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka, despite both women having very impressive seasons.
After dominating the WTA Rankings table for all of the 2024 season, Swiatek was finally overtaken by Sabalenka on Monday. This would be the Belarusian’s second stint as World No.1, after having held pole position for eight weeks last year.
Swiatek playing the long game, according to Roddick
Sabalenka is ahead of Swiatek in the WTA Race and is in prime position to finish the year as the World No.1. However, the 2024 Australian and US Open champion was beaten to that title by the Pole in similar circumstances a year ago.
During the latest episode of his ‘Served with Andy Roddick’ podcast, the former World No.1 speculated that Swiatek was in no hurry to reclaim her place atop the WTA Rankings table. Only 41 points separate the duo in the current WTA Rankings.
“Props to Sabalenka. Iga actually won the No.1 ranking from her at World Tour Finals (WTA Finals) last year,” said Roddick. “We often treat it as if Iga’s been No 1, and she has been for the large part of it, but she had to win two matches on the trot to keep the No 1 ranking at the end of last year. It feels like we’re on the same track.
“I like that she’s gotten to that point in her career where she’s taking the long view on this. She’s not in a rush to get it back. It’s obviously not a priority for her. She’s done it before so that helps, right? Props to Sabalenka for winning all of it and just her year in general. I think she’s player of the year regardless of how the rankings shake out.”
“I like that she’s gotten to that point in her career where she’s taking the long view on this. She’s not in a rush to get it back. It’s obviously not a priority for her. She’s done it before so that helps, right? Props to Sabalenka for winning all of it and just her year in general. I think she’s player of the year regardless of how the rankings shake out.”
