Iga Swiatek is officially up and running at the Wuhan Open, defeating Magdalena Frech in her opening match.
After receiving a bye in the first round of the WTA 1000 tournament in China, seventh seed Swiatek beat her fellow Pole 6-2, 6-1. She needed one hour and 43 minutes to secure the victory, and will now play the winner of the match between Ashlyn Krueger and Lanlana Tararudee in the round of 16. And she should be full of confidence heading into that match given that Swiatek has just overtaken a career record of legendary figure Serena Williams.
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Iga Swiatek overtakes Serena Williams record with latest Wuhan Open win
As per OptaAce, Swiatek has just secured her 149th win in WTA 1000 tournaments. That tally surpasses Williams’ 148 for the outright seventh most wins in WTA 1000 events since the format’s introduction back in 2009.
It’s a fantastic milestone for the six-time Grand Slam champion. And in another hugely impressive feat, the Pole has just achieved 40 or more wins for the fifth consecutive season of her glittering career. Swiatek has admitted she is currently experiencing the toughest campaign yet, but she can be very proud of her latest feat, and indeed many others throughout 2026.
Mixed results for Iga Swiatek’s WTA Finals hopes at the Wuhan Open
Of course, the 25-year-old still has one big goal to achieve before the 2026 season is brought to an end, with Swiatek wanting to reach the WTA Finals. She is doing everything she can to do that, including Swiatek playing at the Ningbo Open later this month for the first time ever.
She currently occupies 10th place in the Race to the WTA Finals, with only the top eight players making it to Indian Wells. Four places have officially already been secured by Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva and Linda Noskova. American duo Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff are expected to join them, leaving just two places remaining.
But Swiatek has already received a boost in that regard at the Wuhan Open, where Marta Kostyuk lost her opening match. She was among the leading contenders for the last few spots alongside Swiatek, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchova, but now looks set to miss out following her early exit.
The Pole is, however, joined by Svitolina and Muchova in the last 16 of the event, which certainly keeps the race for Indian Wells alive. But given that they are sixth and seventh respectively in the rankings, their progress is certainly bad news for Swiatek in 10th.
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