Iga Swiatek has lit up the Asian swing in style. Back on this leg of the tour after missing it last year because of a one‑month ITIA ban, the world No.1 wasted no time showing her authority. In Seoul, she clawed past the 2022 champion to win the Korea Open title. She dropped the opening set but stormed through the next two. It wasn’t smooth sailing. Her grit and fight carried her, as always. The victory delivered her third trophy of the season. Swiatek’s return to Asia couldn’t be louder. She’s opened the swing with a statement and set the bar sky‑high for the rest of the field.
On Sunday, the Wimbledon champion pulled off a gritty 1-6, 7-6, 7-5 win over her Russian rival. She trailed 3-1 in the decider and faced two points from defeat. Yet she turned the match around. Alexandrova won 11 more points overall and even had 15-30 on Swiatek’s serve at 6-5 in the second set. The Pole stood firm. She held, forced a tie-break, and dominated it. In the third, she broke late to close out the win.
This triumph gives her a third title this year and her 57th win of 2025. It also added a milestone. As tennis.com pointed out on X: “With her triumph in Seoul today, 🇵🇱 @iga_swiatek has become the FIRST tennis player born in the 2000s, woman OR man, to capture 25 career titles.” Even the ATP’s young stars Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz haven’t done that yet.
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These three have ruled the game in recent years. For now, Alcaraz holds 23 tour titles, including seven this season. Sinner owns 20, with two Grand Slam titles added this year. Neither is far from Swiatek’s mark. And with the season still alive, one of them could soon reach it.
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Coming back to Iga Swiatek, the win moves her closer to chasing down Aryna Sabalenka in the No.1 race. Sabalenka still leads with 11,225 points, while Swiatek stands at 8,433. The Belarusian’s withdrawal from the China Open through injury widens the door for Swiatek.
And since she hasn’t yet played the required number of WTA 500 events in 2025, she will feature in more before the season wraps. For now, Iga is happy with a personal twist. She broke a record in Korea, something her father couldn’t.
Iga Swiatek makes a witty mention of her father’s Olympic past
After grinding past the Russian, Iga made sure her victory speech struck the right notes. The final had been tense and demanding, but when the title was hers, she turned straight to gratitude. Before leaving the mic, she kept it simple: “I also want to thank my sponsors and everyone who is supporting me.” The moment felt heartfelt, but the 23-year-old wasn’t about to finish without a wink of humor.
She followed it up with a cheeky dig wrapped in affection. “My team, who’s part of the team who’s still in Poland and resting, and my family as well. I’m happy that I could win here because of the family history, my dad couldn’t the Olympics, but at least I won this tournament. So, hopefully he’s gonna come next year to enjoy everything.” A nod to history and a laugh at her dad’s expense.
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If you didn’t know, her father, Tomasz Swiatek, rowed for Poland at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, finishing seventh in the men’s quadruple sculls. He also struck gold at the 1987 Universiade and represented the legendary AZS Warsaw sports club. Tomasz was the one who pushed Iga toward sport, guided her early years, then stepped aside in 2024 to become what he is now: her loudest supporter from the stands.
And in Seoul, Iga delivered him a proud twist of fate. She rallied back from a set down to lift the Korea Open trophy and keep her charge alive. Next up: the China Open! With her form blazing, you can’t help but ask: Is another title about to land in her hands? What’s your take? Drop your thoughts in the comments!