Iga Swiatek surpasses Daniil Medvedev in ranking points as WTA No. 1 holds more points than ATP No. 1 for the first time since Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal in 2014

Since Serena Williams held more ranking points than Rafael Nadal back in early 2014, no WTA No. 1 has had more points than the ATP No.1 during the same week, until now. Iga Swiatek currently holds more ranking points than Daniil Medvedev, breaking a streak that continued for eight-and-a-half years.

Daniil Medvedev became the newly-crowned World No. 1 in the ATP rankings on Monday, surpassing Novak Djokovic. Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek first became the highest-ranked female player in early 2022 and her ongoing dominant run has solidified her place at the top.

Swiatek's 8,631 ranking points are currently higher than Medvedev's 7,950 points. On January 13th, 2014, Serena Williams reigned supreme with a massive tally of 13,260 points while Nadal had 13,130 points, which was the last time the WTA No. 1 had more points than their ATP counterpart.

Back then, the top 5 WTA players in the world had won a combined 24 Grand Slam singles titles, with Serena Williams having 17 of those to her name. The American was followed by Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Li Na, and Agnieszka Radwanska in the rankings.

Cut to 2022, where the top-5 comprising of Swiatek, Annet Kontaveit, Paula Badosa, Ons Jabeur, and Aryna Sabalenka have won 2 Grand Slams between them, both to Swiatek.

The Polish superstar's 35-match unbeaten streak - having surpassed Serena Williams' tally of 34 - has played a huge role in her holding such a high number of points. She has won six consecutive titles, with the latest one coming at the 2022 French Open.

The ATP top 5 in the second week of January 2014 had 22 Grand Slam singles titles between them at the time, with Nadal winning 13 of those trophies. Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer, Andy Murray, and Juan Martin Del Potro completed the top 5 standings.

Currently, while World No. 3 Djokovic and No. 4 Nadal have won a combined 42 Grand Slams, the other three players in the top 5, Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, and Casper Ruud, have 1 Major title between them.

Medvedev's big rise in the rankings came on the back of a strong end to the 2021 season where he won the US Open and reached the finals at the Paris Masters and ATP Finals. He then made another big final - at this year's Australian Open.

Meanwhile, the current ATP and WTA No. 1s will look to draw inspiration from Williams and Nadal and use their good form to win more Grand Slam titles.

When Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal stood atop the rankings after a stellar 2013 season

2013 US Open - Day 14

Serena Williams started 2014 with a massive lead in the rankings on the back of a stellar 2013 season, which is regarded as one of the best years of her illustrious career. In 2013, Williams won as many as 11 titles, which included the French Open, US Open, and WTA Finals titles.

That same year, she recorded a 34-match winning run, which started at the Miami Open in March and continued all the way to the third round of the Wimbledon Championships in late June. She ended the year with a staggering 78-4 win-loss record and as the World No. 1.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal's 2013 tennis season is one of the greatest comeback seasons of all-time. After missing the second half of the 2012 season due to a serious knee injury, Nadal stormed back to win 10 titles in 2013, which included the French Open, US Open, Montreal Masters, Cincinnati Masters, and Indian Wells Masters.

Nadal won 75 matches and lost just 7 matches all year. He also won the Davis Cup title with Spain towards the end of the season, where he finished as the World No. 1. The Spaniard carried that standing into the 2014 Australian Open, where he finished as the runner-up.