Iga Swiatek’s US Open victory cements her status as the dominant force in women’s tennis

NEW YORK — After Ons Jabeur‘s forehand sailed out of bounds, Iga Swiatek immediately dropped to the ground and covered her eyes with her hands. Polish flags waved and “Iga” chants erupted around Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Swiatek had just won the US Open, her third career major title and second of the year, with a 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory over Jabeur, and in that moment proved she is now the long-awaited dominant force in women’s tennis.

But even she seemed shocked while receiving her trophy after the match — and not just because of the $2.6 million check she was presented.

“I’m pretty glad it’s not in cash,” she joked.

Having proved she was the best in the world on clay, there still were questions about her hard-court game.

“I’m not expecting a lot, especially before this tournament, it was a challenging time,” Swiatek said on the court, while wearing a new Asics jacket featuring “1GA” and three stars to represent each major win. “Coming back from winning a Grand Slam is tricky, even if Roland Garros was the second [major title], I needed to stay composed and focus on the goals.

“It’s challenging. New York is loud, it’s so crazy. There are so many temptations in the city, so many people I’ve met who are inspiring, I’m so proud of how I’ve handled it mentally.”

While Serena Williams‘ impending retirement consumed the headlines during the first week of the tournament, Swiatek proved during her impressive fortnight that she was the heir apparent to Williams’ former role as the tour’s superstar. There have been others in recent years to achieve steady success — including Naomi Osaka, who has won four hard-court major titles, and the recently retired Ashleigh Barty, who won a Grand Slam on every surface — but Swiatek’s time is now. She is a contender wherever she plays.

It was the seventh title of the season for Swiatek — the most by a woman on tour since Williams in 2014 — and Swiatek became the first woman to win multiple majors in the same year since Angelique Kerber in 2016. Swiatek has held the No. 1 ranking since April, and she now has double the points of Jabeur, who will return to the No. 2 spot Monday.

Even the devastated Jabeur, who fought back to force a second-set tiebreak after a lopsided first set that lasted just 29 minutes, acknowledged the US Open title belonged with Swiatek after the match.

“I really tried but Iga…