From World Number One to a Long Slide Down
Świątek isn't new to dominance. Between April 2022 and October 2024, she held the world number one spot for 125 weeks total, the seventh-longest reign in the history of women's tennis. She's also won six Grand Slam titles over the course of her career. But that same magic hasn't shown up on court this season. Her most recent major title actually came at Wimbledon back in 2025, and since then, results have been harder to come by. Her latest setback came last week, when she was eliminated in the fourth round of the US Open, the year's closing Grand Slam event. Her current ranking of ninth is the lowest she's touched since February 2022, just two months before she first climbed to the top of the standings.

A Season Full of Setbacks
Things actually started reasonably well for the 25-year-old, who hails from Raszyn near Warsaw. She reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open in January and February, a solid enough start. She then brought in a new coach, hoping for a spark, but the improvement never really materialized. By the end of May, she was knocked out of the French Open, a tournament she once ruled over, in the round of 16. Wimbledon brought even more pain. She failed to defend her title there and suffered a surprising exit in the third round, a result that dropped her from third place all the way down to eighth in the rankings.

A Late Rally That Wasn't Enough
There was a brief bright spot. Świątek clawed her way back up to fifth place after winning the Canadian Open in August, a non-Grand Slam event but a confidence boost nonetheless. She followed that up with a semifinal run at the Cincinnati Open later that month, but it wasn't quite enough to hold onto her position. She slipped back down to eighth heading into the US Open, which wrapped up on Sunday, and has now fallen further still. It's her lowest ranking since early 2022, a period before her biggest career wins had even happened. Świątek first appeared in the WTA rankings at just 15 years old, shortly after claiming her first professional title at an ITF tournament in Stockholm back in 2016.