Champions Corner: Why this Indian Wells title feels different for Iga Swiatek

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Two years ago at the BNP Paribas Open, Iga Swiatek experienced six life-changing days. She was set to play the biggest hard-court final of her career. Ranked No.4 at the time, she stood across the court from Maria Sakkari. 

When match point fell her way to secure a 6-4, 6-1 win, Swiatek whipped her racquet 30 feet in the air in shock and celebration. She had little time to settle into ascending to the second best player in the world, because days later, she would rise to No.1 after Ashleigh Barty's sudden retirement. 

Swiatek, of course, was excited about reaching the pinnacle of the game, but part of her wondered whether she deserved it.  

Two years on, she's put those questions to rest. Her 6-4, 6-0 win over Sakkari on Sunday to win Indian Wells for a second time capped off a two-week run in which she did not lose a set and dropped 21 games across six matches. It's the fewest games lost on the way to the title in 30 years. 

After the win, Swiatek was asked what it actually feels like to be No.1.

"I would say you just feel like your game is better than anyone out there," she said. "Obviously, it's not for granted that you're going to win because of that, but you feel like you have skills and you have everything to be able to present your best game.

"Because of that -- I don't expect it's going to happen all the time -- but I just know that it's somewhere there and I need to [do] the best work to put it out there."

As she heads to Miami, Swiatek will spend her 95th week at No.1. She already swept the Sunshine Double two years ago. If she wins Miami to win her 20th career title, she will become the second woman to pull off the sweep twice. Stefanie Graf did it in 1994 and 1996.

Earlier in the tournament, Swiatek was asked if she could choose any tennis player to have dinner with, who would it be? She thought about it and then settled on Graf. 

"[I would want to talk to her about] her mentality and how she handled, you know, suddenly being the best player out there and how she felt with it personally," Swiatek said. 

Swiatek prides herself in her intensity and discipline. The latter has been forged with her sports psychologist, Daria Abramowicz. That focus helped her navigate a draw that included two players who have given her trouble in the past (Danielle Collins and Linda Noskova), another who tried to underarm serve her and a player in Caroline Wozniacki, for whom Swiatek has immense respect. She went into every match as a heavy favorite. 

"There are going to be ups and downs still, so I don't expect I'm always going to feel comfortable with pressure," Swiatek said. "Sometimes it hits harder; sometimes it doesn't hit at all."

More from Indian Wells

Here are some additional notes from the year's third WTA 1000 event:

Honor Roll

Maria Sakkari: A month ago, Sakkari dipped out of the Top 10 for the first time since September of 2021. Coming into Indian Wells, she hadn't reached a quarterfinal all season and parted ways with her longtime coach Tom Hill before kicking off the Sunshine Double.

But Sakkari had posted some of her best results in the desert of late -- she reached the Indian Wells final two years ago and the semifinals last year. And with coach David Witt in her corner this past fortnight, she posted another strong result.

Sakkari beat No.3 Coco Gauff in the semifinals, but in a rematch of the 2022 final, Sakkari fell short to Swiatek again. However, Sakkari will be back inside the Top 10 again. 

"You never want to lose and leave the tournament as a loser," Sakkari told the press, "but at the same time, there are so many good things that happened the last two weeks that I cannot just ignore."

Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens: Back together this season, for the first time since 2021, Hsieh and Mertens are beginning to rack up titles. Following their victory at the Australian Open, the duo picked up the BNP Paribas Open doubles crown without the loss of a set.

The pair is doing so well that Hsieh will reclaim the doubles No.1 ranking -- from Mertens. "I love [Hsieh] being No.1, I wouldn't have it any other way for any other person," Mertens told the press.

Caroline Wozniacki: Barring health concerns, the former World No.1 is shooting back toward the top of women's tennis. With her three-year maternity leave behind her, Wozniacki made the first quarterfinal of her comeback at Indian Wells -- before withdrawing from that match with a foot injury.

Marta Kostyuk: The Ukrainian 21-year-old keeps reaching milestones at the top tournament this year. Less than two months after she made her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open, Kostyuk reached the first WTA 1000 semifinal of her career, in Indian Wells.

Elisabetta Cocciaretto: The 23-year-old Italian, who cracked the Top 30 last year, won in Charleston on Saturday to capture her third career WTA 125 title. Cocciaretto will now travel to Miami on a roll, heading into a first-round encounter against Naomi Osaka.

Hot Shot

It was Coco Gauff's 20th birthday Wednesday, and she celebrated it in quite some style with some of her best all-court play:

Notable Numbers

70: Iga Swiatek is 70-0 in completed matches after winning the opening set at WTA 1000 events throughout her career.

124: Maria Sakkari hit 124 winners at Indian Wells this year, the most of any woman at the 2024 edition.

50:  With her second-round win over Clara Burel, Coco Gauff became the only teenager to register 50 WTA 1000 match-wins since the creation of the tier in 2009 (and before she turned 20 during the second week).

204: Caroline Wozniacki, ranked No.204 at the start of the event, is the second lowest ranked woman to reach the Indian Wells quarterfinals (Venus Williams was No.211 in 1997). 

From the Camera Roll

Last Sunday night, screen star Zendaya was presenting at the Oscars. One week later, she was hanging out with Indian Wells champ Iga Swiatek and a very different trophy.

Next Up

One leg of the Sunshine Double down, one to go. The tour heads en masse across the United States, from the Californian desert to the Floridian seashore, for the WTA 1000 Miami Open.

Swiatek is going to try to pull off the Sunshine Double for the second time in her career. Only Graf has done the Indian Wells-Miami calendar-year combo two times (1994 and 1996).

Simona Halep is also playing her first event on tour since the 2022 US Open, and she will face Paula Badosa in the first round. Review this and other Miami matchups in the main-draw breakdown here. Take a look at everything you need to know about the tournament here.