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The 2022 women's tennis season had no shortage of history makers, particularly Iga Swiatek, Ashleigh Barty, and Elena Rybakina - the three women who, among them, shared the four Grand Slam tournaments of the season.
Swiatek, in particular, produced a season that every other player would envy, and also won two of those Slams. But the trio still do not seem to have quite captured the collective attention of the general public, like many other players who rose to stardom with Grand Slam victories in recent years.
Ash Barty, who was comfortably the best player in the world on the women's circuit over the past couple of seasons leading into 2022, continued her dominance as the World No. 1 by winning the Australian Open - her home Grand Slam. The title also meant that she had won a Grand Slam on all three surfaces, making the achievement even more significant. However, Barty stunned the tennis world soon after winning her third Grand Slam, announcing her retirement from pro tennis at the age of 25.
Iga Swiatek, who took over the reins from Barty as the top-ranked player in the WTA rankings and went on a stellar run of form, extended her run of dominance on clay into the French Open and won her second Roland Garros title. Russian-born Kazakh player Elena Rybakina then joined the Grand Slam party, becoming the first Kazakh player ever to clinch a Grand Slam singles title by winning Wimbledon. Swiatek then capped off her historic season and the 2022 Grand Slam season by winning her maiden US Open title.
There is so much to applaud and talk about when it comes to such incredible achievements by the trio of Swiatek, Barty, and Rybakina this season. Despite that, it seems the spotlight has not shone brightly enough on them considering they have not become household names in the general public and beyond those who are regular consumers of all things tennis.
Why the likes of Swiatek, Barty, and Rybakina may not be as popular as Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu
While some other Grand Slam winners in recent years, such as Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu, and Emma Raducanu, have attained superstar status even off the court, why have the likes of Ashleigh Barty, Iga Swiatek, and Elena Rybakina not been able to capture the collective attention to that extent?
It might have to do with the fact that they are not considered as "glamorous" as the likes of Osaka, Raducanu, and Andreescu, among others, by the general public in the modern world.
Osaka has struggled to make an impact on the court for the better part of the last two years and Raducanu has struggled to build on her historic 2021 US Open win, but they are still among the most talked-about and followed tennis players in the world, more than the Grand Slam champions of 2022. Additionally, both Osaka and Raducanu were ranked among the top 15 most marketable athletes (not just tennis players) in the world, while Iga Swiatek was nowhere close.
Much to their credit, though, they have earned it through their combination of "glamor quotient" and sheer talent as athletes.
Glamour quotient or not, should the likes of Iga Swiatek, Ashleigh Barty, and Elena Rybakina be rated higher?
Ashleigh Barty's retirement did play a role in her diminishing relevance on tour this season, particularly because it came right at the start of the season. Meanwhile, Rybakina's Wimbledon campaign was overshadowed by the debate surrounding a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes, leading to the WTA and ATP taking away ranking points from the tournament, which severely hurt her chances of becoming a top 10 player after winning her maiden Grand Slam. Add to that the shy and, to an extent, reserved nature of the 23-year-old.
It cannot be ignored that these factors did play a role in the limited manner in which they eventually captured the public's attention despite such great achievements. But it does beg the question, should it have played as big a role as it did, and should their great achievements on the court have garnered a lot more continued attention than they did?
Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek has not just been a great champion on the court this season but has been an ideal example of how a great on-court champion should be off the court as well, raising awareness on many social and global issues, and using her clout as the top-ranked tennis player in the world. Make no mistake, many have sung praises for Iga Swiatek's performances this year. But the general public sentiment still does raise the question, has the World No. 1 been underrated this season?
