Iga Swiatek continues to make history. The Polish star won her 37th straight match Thursday at Wimbledon, besting Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in the second round.
The world No. 1 needed more than two hours to dispatch Pattinama Kerkhove. Before Thursday, Swiatek had dropped just one set since April 23, against Zheng Qinwen in the fourth round of the French Open, and just two of 60 across her winning streak.
Pattinama Kerkhove, the 138th-ranked player in the world, had never faced a top 10 opponent before Thursday. “I think she used all the advantages that she could,” Swiatek said. “I feel like she was using the wind better than me. She wasn’t slowing down her hands.”
Close, but no c𝘪𝘨𝘢r 🤏🇵🇱 @iga_swiatek records a 37TH STRAIGHT WIN to advance to Round 3, defeating Pattinama Kerkhove 6-4, 4-6, 6-3!#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/bhxCmffh3z— wta (@WTA) June 30, 2022
Close, but no c𝘪𝘨𝘢r 🤏🇵🇱 @iga_swiatek records a 37TH STRAIGHT WIN to advance to Round 3, defeating Pattinama Kerkhove 6-4, 4-6, 6-3!#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/bhxCmffh3z
The 21-year-old next will face Alizé Cornet in the round of 32.
With her first-round win against Jana Fett, Swiatek broke her tie with Venus Williams for the most consecutive wins since 2000. Williams won 35 straight matches and six straight titles that year.
With Thursday’s win, she moves into a tie with Martina Hingis, who won 37 matches in a row in 1997. The longest ever winning streak in women’s tennis belongs to Martina Navratilova, who won 74 straight matches in 1984.
The world No. 1 admitted after her first-round victory that she wished she could test herself against defending Wimbledon champion Ash Barty. Barty, 26, retired following an Australian Open win to start this year.
“I’m pretty sad Ash isn’t here because I would love to play against her on grass,” Swiatek said.