Iga Swiatek earns Billie Jean King's praise after joining Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams & others in prestigious list

Former WTA No. 1 and Tennis Hall of Fame inductee Billie Jean King has praised Iga Swiatek for entering her 121st week as World No.1 and including herself in an elite list consisting of tennis stars such as Steffin Graf and Martina Navratilova. Swiatek entered her 121st week as WTA No.1 on Monday, September 16.

By reaching the feat, Swiatek has touched the record of Australian tennis player Ashleigh Barty and is tied with her in the seventh position for having the most weeks spent as World No.1.

The Pole is now just behind six WTA players on the prestigious list - Steff Graff, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Chris Evert, Martina Hingis, and Monica Seles.

King, having held the WTA No. 1 position herself in the past, reacted to Swiatek's impressive feat and shared a congratulatory note for her.

"Congratulations to her on an incredible accomplishment," a part of King's message for Swiatek read on X.

She also highlighted that only six players are ahead of Swiatke in the standings.

Iga Swiatek faced a straight-sets defeat against Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals of the 2024 US Open

Iga Swiatek on the tenth day of the 2024 US Open (Image via: Getty Images)

On the back of a dominant win against World No. 15 Liudmila Samsonova in the Round of 16 stage of the US Open, Iga Swiatek locked horns with Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals. This was the season's first meeting between the two players in Grand Slams.

Pegula wasted no time paving her dominance on the WTA No. 1 and convincingly defeated her in the first set 6-2. In the second set, the Pole produced a better performance but it was not enough to take down Pegula. The 30-year-old clinched the second set 6-4 and reached the semifinals of the US Open.

Swiatek's performance was extremely faulty as the WTA No. 1 committed two double faults and 41 unforced errors. Following the defeat, she reflected on the technical issue with her serves and mentioned that the numerous errors she inflicted cost her the game.

"I’ve had many tournaments where I didn’t serve well and I managed to win anyway. But I probably didn’t find the right solution because I couldn’t push with my serve. You’re not going to win if you make so many mistakes, and I made those," the Pole said via the Guardian.

This was the third time this season Swiatek failed to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam. Her only semifinal appearance in a Major this season came at the 2024 Roland Garros, where she won the title for the fourth time in her career.