By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Roland Garros became Poland Garros as 19-year-old Iga Swiatek of Raszyn, Poland became her country’s first ever Grand Slam singles champion by completing a devastating and surprising run to the women’s singles title at the French Championships.
Swiatek, unseeded and ranked No. 54, defeated No. 3 seed and reigning Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-1 to become the first woman since Justine Henin in 2007 to win the title in Paris without losing a set. Swiatek lost only 28 games in her seven match wins at Roland Garros, the most one-sided run to a title in Paris since Steffi Graf lost only 20 games in her Grand Slam season of 1988.
She is the lowest-ranked woman to win at Roland Garros since the WTA Rankings were introduced in 1975 and the “longest shot” winner of a women’s major since unranked Kim Clijsters won the 2009 U.S. Open
She is the second Polish woman ever to reach the final in Paris, following in the footsteps of 1939 runner-up Jadwiga Jedrzejowska. Aga Radwanska was a runner-up at Wimbledon in 2012.
