Iga Świątek with an unexpected promotion! The Pole didn’t even go onto the court

Iga Świątek is still waiting for the first semi-final of a WTA event in the 2026 season. For now, the Pole clearly has an uphill climb, but this does not mean… a promotion in the world ranking!

Paradoxically, the ranking points are structured in such a way that Coco Gauff, who came further in the tournament in Madrid (WTA 1000), will ultimately fall behind Świątek. How is this possible?

The Polish woman’s advancement in the WTA ranking. Coco Gauff failed to save points in Madrid!

The structure of ranking classifications among male and female tennis players is quite specific. The essence of the matter in the main ranking (ATP and WTA) is to defend the points from the previous season. What does this mean in practice? If, for example, Iga Świątek played in the Wimbledon final and, moreover, won the title in London in 2025 – she will have to repeat her result so as not to lose a large pool of points.

An almost identical situation happened to Coco Gauff. The American came to the tournament in Madrid as last year’s finalist. Interestingly, the US tennis player defeated Świątek on the way to the final – then very clearly 6:1, 6:1. However, Aryna Sabalenka turned out to be better in the title game.

This time, Gauff lost in the Spanish capital, being in the best 16 of the competition. In the 1/8 finals, the Czech Linda Noskova was better than the American, winning against the higher-ranked player in three sets. Thus, Gauff will lose ranking points compared to what she achieved in the previous season.

This will allow the Pole to jump into the top three of the WTA rankings. Interestingly, the runner-up – Elena Rybakina – also said goodbye to the tournament in Madrid, losing at the stage of 1/8 finals. A Russian who has been representing Austria for some time – Anastazja Potapova – caused a sensation.

Number 1, Aryna Sabalenka, is still in great shape. There are many indications that the Belarusian is heading for a successful defense of the championship title in Madrid.

Iga Świątek and all her championship titles

In her career so far, the Pole has won a total of 25 championship titles on courts almost all over the world.

Świątek won six Grand Slam titles, four times at Roland Garros (2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024), once at the US Open (2022) and Wimbledon (2025). To this should be added the prestigious triumph in the WTA Finals (2023).

In addition, wins in WTA 1000 tournaments in: Rome (2021, 2022, 2024), Doha (2022 and 2024), Indian Wells (2022 and 2024), Miami (2022), Beijing (2023), Madrid (2024) and Cincinnati (2025).

The list also includes WTA 500 competitions: Adelaide (2021), Stuttgart (2022 and 2023), San Diego (2022), Doha (2023) and Seoul (2025).

Plus a Polish tournament accent, WTA 250 in Warsaw (2023).

As for Polish topics, it is impossible not to emphasize the bronze medal of the Olympic Games in the singles competition in Paris (2024). Świątek also won the Polish national team in the United Cup in Sydney (2026).