Iga Swiatek enters the US Open back at No. 2 in the rankings and back on top of her game

On the daylight endure month that Iga Swiatek resoundingly proclaimed to the domain that she was, most definitively, back at her best — ready once again to dominate her opponents and, indeed, all of women's tennis — she already was looking ahead.

“After a few days of celebrating,” Swiatek said, just hours into her status as a Wimbledon champion by virtue of a 6-0, 6-0 victory in the final there, “I'm going to need to get back on hard courts and grind and grind and grind.”

The work is paying off.

As she now goes to the U.S. Open, which starts in New York on Sunday, it's only fair to look at Swiatek the way the world did not all that long ago: as a player with the talent and mindset to succeed on all surfaces, in all conditions, against all players.

The 24-year-old from Poland who already owns six major titles — and needs only an Australian Open trophy to complete a career Grand Slam — has returned to her elite status, not to mention returned to No. 2 in the rankings, behind only Aryna Sabalenka and ahead of Coco Gauff.

It means Swiatek, who ceded the top spot to Sabalenka last October and slid as low as No. 8, couldn't face the 2024 champion at Flushing Meadows until the final.

“Wherever Swiatek’s ranked, she’s playing like a No. 1 again,” was the observation from three-time major champion Lindsay Davenport on Tennis Channel’s telecast of the Cincinnati Open final on Monday.

That's when Swiatek defeated Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 6-4 with the help of nine aces to complete a run through the hard-court tournament without dropping a set. That allowed Swiatek to earn her 11th career title at a WTA Masters 1000, the second-highest total since 2009.

This latest triumph also gave Swiatek her second trophy in her past three events — the other came on the grass courts of the All England Club on July 12 — following a drought of more than a year without so much as reaching a final anywhere.

Yes, it wasn’t all that long ago that Swiatek was dealing with a difficult stretch, on the court and off it.

In addition to the disappointing-for-her results, there was the not-insignificant matter of a doping case connected to a tainted sleeping aid and an agreed-upon ban of one month.

“It wasn’t easy,” Swiatek said.

But she got through it all and is playing with the sort of freedom that was missing for some time and the mental toughness that she proudly symbolized Monday by jutting her index finger at her temple on the way up to the net for a handshake after closing things out against Paolini with an ace.

It was a performance that showed off key traits Swiatek possesses.

The bigger-than-ever serve. The imposing forehand. Point-altering court coverage, all anticipation and tiny steps.

“You're playing amazing,” Paolini told Swiatek during the trophy ceremony.

It's noteworthy that she's doing so on faster surfaces these days, after being mistakenly labeled by some as a clay-courter, based on her four titles at Roland-Garros. Let's not forget that Swiatek already won the U.S. Open in 2022, and had earned a junior title at Wimbledon as a teenager, so perhaps her most recent successes should be viewed more as confirmation than some sort of discovery.

With the help of coach Wim Fissette, who came aboard late last year, Swiatek is not so much a new player as, if anything, an improved version.

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Howard Fendrich has been the ’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: /author/howard-fendrich. More tennis: /hub/tennis

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