"Iga Swiatek's the real No. 1" - Liudmila Samsonova

Liudmila Samsonova recently shared her thoughts on Iga Swiatek while talking to the local media ahead of her WTA Elite Trophy campaign in Zhuhai this week.

Samsonova has enjoyed a good season in 2023. The 5'11" Russian has compiled a 33-23 win-loss record on the tour, the highlights of which include reaching a new career-high ranking of 12 in February and finishing as the runner-up at the Canadian Open in August.

More recently, Samsonova reached the final of the 2023 China Open, where she was denied by World No. 2 Iga Swiatek for the loss of only four games. The 24-year-old is now looking to cap off her season on a high note at the WTA Elite Trophy, where she will take on Veronika Kudermetova and Zhu Lin in her group-stage matches.

Liudmila Samsonova sat down for a candid interview before her debut at the second-tier tournament later on Thursday (October 26). During the interaction, she was asked to express her views on who she felt was the best female player this year.

Without a moment's hesitation, the Russian named Iga Swiatek "the real No. 1". She also gave an account of how she had comforted her following their summit clash in Beijing.

"Iga, 100%. I'm feeling she's the real No. 1. We were speaking in the final of Beijing. She came to me and she was really nice during the ceremony. It was like, 'I know sometimes it's tough.' When I started to know her better... I felt something special," Samsonova remarked.

The 24-year-old also extended her respect to her younger peer.

"Yes, a lot," she asserted when asked whether she still respected Swiatek despite losing to her.

Iga Swiatek has arguably been the best player on the WTA tour in 2023 despite losing the World No. 1 position

Iga Swiatek dropped her World No. 1 position to Aryna Sabalenka after her early exit at the 2023 US Open

Iga Swiatek has had a great 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 WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing. She has also won eight of her 14 matches against top 10 opponents this year.

Although Swiatek's form has been impressive this year, she has been susceptible to losses. She failed to defend her 2022 US Open crown in September, crashing out in the fourth round to Jelena Ostapenko. As a consequence of her early defeat, she dropped 1,760 WTA ranking points (2,000 - 240).

Aryna Sabalenka subsequently leapfrogged her in the rankings to become the new World No. 1. The Belarusian, on her part, reached the final in New York, which was an improvement on her last-four finish in 2022 (where she lost to Swiatek).

Currently, Sabalenka stands at 8,425 points, which is 630 more than Swiatek's ranking points tally. The Pole, however, will have a chance to close the gap on the Belarusian next week at the WTA Finals in Cancun.

Swiatek went unbeaten in the group stage before losing to Sabalenka herself at the 2022 edition of the year-end tournament, thereby gaining 750 points. Sabalenka, meanwhile, won two of her three round-robin matches and finished as the runner-up, taking home 955 points.

So, the Pole will have to reach the championship match in Cancun to have a plausible shot at reclaiming the World No. 1 position from her rival.