World No.15 Liudmila Samsonova considers Iga Swiatek the real world number one WTA player, as she revealed in a recent interview at a K-Swiss event in Zhuhai, China.
Asked about the best women’s tennis player right now, without hesitation Samsonova responded: “Iga.” Then the Russian reaffirmed her claim:
100%. I’m feeling she’s the real number one.
Samsonova said that Swiatek approached her after beating her in the China Open title match earlier this month:
We were speaking together in Beijing final. She came to me and she was very nice during the ceremony.
It was like ‘I know sometimes it’s tough.’ When I started to know her better and got closer to her, I felt something special.
Swiatek’s 75-week reign at the top spot ended after the US Open, when she was overtaken by Aryna Sabalenka on September 11. Swiatek has since been No.2.
Samsonova was in Zhuhai for the Huafa Technology WTA Elite Trophy, where despite holding a 5-2 lead and having two match points, the fourth seed couldn’t secure the win in the final Rose Group match, ultimately falling to fifth seed Veronika Kudermetova.
