"Iga Swiatek is a little more complete than Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka" - Emma Raducanu's former coach

Emma Raducanu's former coach Nigel Sears recently made a rankings prediction, stating that Iga Swiatek would finish the year as the World No. 1 ahead of the likes of Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.

Swiatek secured her fourth Grand Slam title earlier this year by triumphing over Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in the French Open final. It was her third Roland Garros crown, which enabled her to maintain her position as the top-ranked player in the WTA singles rankings.

The Pole has emerged victorious in four tournaments this season. She has won titles in Doha, Stuttgart, Paris and most recently, the Poland Open.

On an episode of the 'Control the Controllables' podcast, Nigel Sears was asked to name the player who would ultimately finish the year as the World No. 1 in the WTA singles rankings. Sears singled out Iga Swiatek as his top pick, choosing her over Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalanka.

Expanding on his choice, Sears emphasized that Swiatek possesses a slight edge over her counterparts due to her exceptional all-around skills and versatility on the court.

"Well if I had to bet I'd go with [Iga] Swiatek because it’s probably going to Swiatek, [Elena] Rybakina or [Aryna] Sabalanka. Those three. But I think Swiatek is just a little more complete than the other two. So I’m going to go with Swiatek," Sears said.

Iga Swiatek follows in the footsteps of Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis, reaches her 70th week as World No. 1

Iga Swiatek at the 2023 Stuttgart Open

Iga Swiatek recently joined an exclusive club that boasts tennis legends Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis. The most recent update of the WTA rankings established the Pole as just the third player ever to hold the World No. 1 spot for 70 weeks in her initial reign.

Swiatek increased her existing ranking points total of 9,315 points by acquiring an additional 175 points at the Poland Open, for an impressive grand total of 9,490. The win in Warsaw helped the World No. 1 extend the gap between her and the second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, who currently trails by 744 points with a total of 8,746 points.

Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis reached the pinnacle of the WTA rankings in the late 1980s and 1990s, respectively. Graf held the World No. 1 position for 186 weeks from August 17, 1987 to March 10, 1991. On the other hand, Hingis enjoyed a successful reign as the top-ranked player for a total of 80 weeks, after first reaching the summit on March 31, 1997.

Iga Swiatek is also the first player since Serena Williams to compete in 100 tour-level matches while holding the title of World No. 1.