© Getty Images Sport – Koji Watanabe
Iga Swiatek has learned her possible path to winning a WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing in her China Open debut. Swiatek, seeded at No 2, drew Sara Sorribes Tormo in the first round. After Sorribes Tormo, Swiatek will meet Varvara Gracheva, who already won her first-round match.
In the Beijing round-of-16, Swiatek is projected to meet a seeded player for the first time – No 14 seed Victoria Azarenka. In the quarterfinal, Swiatek could possibly clash against 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.
The Beijing semifinal could bring us a rematch of the 2022 French Open final as Swiatek is projected to meet Coco Gauff there. The projected Beijing final is Swiatek taking on No 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Swiatek enters a new territory
After holding the world No 1 spot for 75 consecutive weeks, Swiatek lost the top spot to Sabalenka after the US Open.
For the first time in her career, Swiatek experienced losing the world No 1 spot. In Beijing, Swiatek explained the positives that she found in losing the world No 1 spot. “I felt like there was some baggage off my shoulders and I could focus more on getting back to the more peaceful…
