4 players to win an Olympic singles medal as the World No. 1 in WTA era ft. Iga Swiatek, Steffi Graf

Iga Swiatek joined a small group of tennis stars who have managed to win a singles medal at an Olympic Games while being the World No. 1 in the WTA Rankings. The Pole achieved the feat at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Winning a medal at the Olympic Games is amongst the most sought-after achievements for any tennis player, and the accolade becomes even more special for the athlete when it is attained while being at the top of the sport. Very few players have accomplished this feat in tennis history.

With that said, let’s take a look at four players who have won an Olympic medal while reigning as the World No. 1 in the WTA Era:
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek etched her name into this list at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Pole has made the World No. 1 her own over the last three years, with her three straight Roland Garros titles playing a significant role in her rise on the WTA Tour.

She entered the 2024 Paris Olympics as the firm favorite for the gold medal and defeated Irina Camelia-Begu (Romania), Diane Parry (France), Wang Xiyu (China), and Danielle Collins (USA) to reach the semifinals.

Iga Swiatek faced Zheng Qinwen of China in the women’s singles semifinal and endured an upset 6-2, 7-5 loss. This meant that the 22-year-old had to play for the bronze medal and easily dispatched Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia to win her maiden Olympic medal.