Iga Świątek is fighting to stay in the top ten of the WTA rankings as she begins her campaign in Toronto. The 25-year-old Polish player is currently ranked eighth in the world, placing her outside the group of main tournament favorites for the first time in many seasons and exposing her to top-seeded rivals in earlier rounds.
According to tennisuptodate.com, the past year was likely the most inconsistent period in Świątek's career since winning her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 2020. The report noted that her eighth position reflects lost distance to her biggest rivals, despite her career achievements of six Grand Slam titles, 11 WTA 1000 victories, and 125 weeks spent at number one in the WTA rankings.
Defending ranking points
Świątek is still waiting for her first tournament victory in 2026, having reached a WTA semi-final only once this year, in Rome. Her ranking faces further pressure at the upcoming tournament in Cincinnati, where she must defend 1,000 ranking points from her title victory a year ago. Any stumble could cause her to drop out of the WTA top ten.
The pressure will continue at the US Open in New York, where she reached the quarter-finals last season after winning the title there in 2022. The outlet tennisuptodate.com reported that the second half of this year could prove to be one of the most important periods in recent years for the former world number one.
For now, the Polish player is focused on Toronto. On Tuesday, she opened the tournament by defeating Sara Beljek 6-0, 6-3, setting up a match against Viktorija Golubic.
