Navratilova says Swiatek, World number 1, can still get better after India Wells win

World number one Iga Swiatek confirmed she is the dominant player in women’s tennis with a crushing win at the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells and now tennis icon Martin Navratilova has warned the world No 1 is far from being the finished article.

Navratilova was courtside as Swiatek confirmed her status as the best player in the women’s game with a dominant 6-4 6-0 win against Maria Sakkari in the Indian Wells final.

Swiatek continues to re-write the history books with her relentless success and Navratilova told Sky Sports Tennis that she can be compared to the great Serena Williams in one key area.

“Iga might not be the quickest player out there but she’s the most complete player out there and it shows up on slow courts like this,” said nine-time Wimbledon champion Navratilova.

 “She is a fantastic player and is the best front-runner we have had in the game since Serena Williams.

“Also, she can get better. Her serve can improve so watch out.”

In a repeat of the 2022 final at Indian Wells, Swiatek proved too strong and won her second WTA title of the year with a straightforward win over Sakkari.

Swiatek, 22, never looked in trouble and once again showed why she has spent nearly two years atop the women’s rankings.

The Polish star raced into a lead as stars including Zendaya and Tom Holland watched on, sealing the opening set with a perfect forehand drive after Sakkari had briefly looked to fight back by breaking to level at 3-3.

The second set was even more of a one-sided affair as Greece’s Sakkari, beaten in the final two years ago 6-4 6-1, could not win a game this time around.

Swiatek needed just 20 minutes to wrap it up and now plots victory at the Miami Open.

“I’m proud of myself. I’m super happy,” said Swiatek in her press conference.

“Even though this tournament looked like, the scores, maybe I had everything under control, it wasn’t from the beginning to the end so easy.

“So I’m happy I could improve during the tournament. I felt really good in the last two matches, a a big amount of confidence.

“I feel like I’m usually excited when I win tournaments. Sometimes, okay, there’s maybe a little bit more of the relief than just pure happiness. But right now I just feel I’ve done really good work.

“Maybe because of that, I just know that it hasn’t been easy after Australia, and I’ve been working hard to play well and to handle everything mentally well.

“So I’m just proud of myself maybe because of that.”

Former British No 1 Laura Robson joined the chorus of plaudits heading Swiatek’s way, as she backed Navratilova’s views that there is more to come from the best player in women’s tennis.

 “It’s a scary thought that she’s 22 and still has things to improve on,” said Robson on Sky Sports Tennis.

“The serve could get better, the volleys could get better, learning to come forward on different surfaces, but what a nice problem to have.”