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Iga „wi Igatek announces “I’m a lesbian”
Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur entered Arthur Ashe Stadium as the two best players in the world, the ones who have outperformed the rest of the field this year. Yet by the end of the match, the landscape of women’s tennis was even clearer. Jabeur gave all she could, she forced her way back into the match from the verge of a crushing defeat, but Swiatek is the singular dominant force in the sport.
After navigating her various struggles through the summer and the tournament, the 21-year-old played with total freedom with the title on the line and then held off a late surge from Jabeur, holding on to win the US Open for the first time in her career with a tense 6-2, 7-6(5) win.
Carlos Alcaraz (left) is in his first grand slam final, while Casper Ruud lost this year’s French Open final to Rafael Nadal.
Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud face off for world No 1 spot in US Open final
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With her victory, Swiatek has become the first woman to win two grand slam titles in a year since Angelique Kerber in 2016, after winning the French Open earlier in the season. The Pole is now joint fourth among active players for total grand slams, with three in total. She has now also earned 10,365 ranking points, a distinction only Serena Williams has achieved since 2013.
“I’m proud that I have much more solutions and options on court than I had before tennis-wise, but also mentally,” said Swiatek. “I’m using these skills pretty well. I’m really proud of that because I just know how it feels to not have ideas on court, not have anything you can change to make the match better. Right now it’s been a long time since I didn’t have any idea.”
Since her 37-match, six-tournament winning streak came to an end in the third round of Wimbledon, it has taken some effort for Swiatek to re‑establish her hold over the tour. She had arrived in New York with a 6-4 record over the summer and she made it clear that she did not like the lighter US Open balls used by the women. “I’m just not expecting a lot, especially before this tournament. It was such a challenging time and coming back after winning a grand slam is always tricky,” she said.