Iga Swiatek was so consistent last year and even now she's having great results: Elena Rybakina

Elena Rybakina recently gave her thoughts on Iga Swiatek while appearing on the second season of Tennis Channel's talk show "Warm & Fuzzy".

Rybakina has had a great season in 2023. The Kazakh has compiled a 46-13 win-loss record on the tour, the highlights of which include reaching the Australian Open final and winning two 1000-level titles in Indian Wells and Rome.

Remarkably, the 24-year-old got the better of the reigning French Open winner Iga Swiatek at all the three tournaments mentioned above. Against that background, host Michael Kosta probably felt it was fitting to ask Rybakina what she thought about her Polish rival.

In her response, the Kazakh first heaped rich praise on Swiatek's game, before asserting that the Pole had put together two amazing seasons on the WTA Tour in 2022 and 2023. She said:

"She's a really tough opponent, I know that every point is going to be difficult just because she's fighting and running a lot. And she's so consistent throughout the year... last year and even now I think it was great results. So, just tough opponent I would say."

All-in-all, Elena Rybakina leads Iga Swiatek by a margin of 3-1 in their head-to-head meetings on the WTA tour. While the Kazakh has beaten Swiatek in Melbourne, Indian Wells and Rome this year, the Pole defeated her in their first-ever meeting at the 2021 Ostrava Open.

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A look into Iga Swiatek's 2022 and 2023 seasons

Iga Swiatek poses with the 2023 Roland Garros trophy

Few tennis fans would probably disagree with Elena Rybakina's assertions about how dominant Iga Swiatek has been over the last two years.

Swiatek has had a good season in 2023, registering a 63-11 win-loss record on the WTA Tour so far. The 22-year-old has won five titles, with her most recent title coming at the China Open, a WTA 1000 tournament. She has also won eight of her 14 matches against top 10 opponents this year.

For what it's worth, Swiatek enjoyed an even better season on the tour in 2022. The Pole won 67 of her 73 matches last year, which translates to an imperious 88% win rate. More notably, she won eight of her nine finals on the women's tour, including the summit clashes at the French Open and the US Open.

Swiatek's most exemplary achievement in 2022, though, is her 15-match unbeaten run against top-10 opposition. Her only two losses came against Ashleigh Barty at the Australian Open and Aryna Sabalenka at the WTA Finals.