Iga Swiatek breaks Chris Evert's record for fewest games lost en route to WTA title at Qatar Open 2023

Iga Swiatek continued her brilliant run at the 2023 Qatar Open on Saturday, beating Jessica Pegula in straight sets in the final to win her first title of the year. The 6-3, 6-0 win meant Swiatek also defended the first hardcourt title of her career, having won the tournament last year with a win over Anett Kontaveit in the summit clash.

After a bye in the first round of this year's edition, the World No. 1 downed Danielle Collins 6-0, 6-1 in the second round. She then received a walkover (from Belinda Bencic) in the quaterfinals. The semifinals witnessed another demolition job from Swiatek, who trumped Veronika Kudermetova with another 6-0, 6-1 scoreline.

With only three games lost in the final against Pegula, the three-time Grand Slam champion has now broken the record for the fewest games dropped en route to a WTA title. The record previously belonged to Chris Evert.

Evert, an 18-time Grand Slam champion in singles, had lost just seven games on the way to the title at the 1981 Swiss Open Women's Tennis tournament in Lugano. The top-seeded Evert defeated Jo Durie (6-0, 6-0), Kathy Horvath (6-2, 6-0), Sandy Collins (6-0, 6-0), Regina Marsikova (6-2, 6-1) and Virginia Ruzici (6-2, 6-1) to take home the trophy.

Additionally, Steffi Graf (1988 United Jersey Bank Classic in Mahwah) and Monica Seles (1992 Virginia Slims of Houston) had won WTA titles for the loss of just eight games along the way. But the tallies of Evert, Graf and Seles have all now been bettered by Iga Swiatek.

Iga Swiatek maintains 4000+ point difference with World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka after Doha triumph

Iga Swiatek at the 2023 Australian Open

The Qatar Open was where Iga Swiatek began her 37-match unbeaten streak last year. The run saw her win six tournaments on the trot, including three WTA 1000 events and one Grand Slam.

In 2022, the Qatar Open was a WTA 1000 event while the Dubai Championships were a WTA 500 event - a situation that has become reversed this year. Despite defending her title in the competition, therefore, Swiatek will drop 430 (900 from 2022 - 470 from 2023) ranking points this week, taking her tally to 10,900.

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, meanwhile, has 6,100 ranking points to her name after her Australian Open triumph. The difference between the top two players is a healthy 4,800 points, one that is much bigger than that between No. 2 and No. 3; Jessica Pegula has 5,250 ranking points, 850 fewer than Sabalenka.