World No. 1 Iga Swiatek wins her third major title at the US Open
Swiatek is one of the best players never to win a Grand Slam title
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Lleyton Hewitt, left, and Samantha Stosur of Australia put the US Open trophy at the feet of Iga-Swiatek as she won her third major at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York.
New York (CNN) — The American tennis star Iga-Swiatek is the first woman to win three majors. The 28-year-old from Japan is also the first woman to become the most-crowned player in a Grand Slam.
“It’s crazy. I’ve always dreamed of being here long before I won my first Grand Slam,” said Swiatek, who, on Tuesday, became only the seventh player in history to win three Grand Slam titles. She won her first in singles here in 2000.
The last woman to win three Grand Slams was Margaret Court in 1968 — the year after she became the first woman to secure three Grand Slam titles by winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Swiatek is only the third Japanese tennis player to ever achieve the feat.
There are eight Japanese-born women in the top 20 of the men’s singles rankings. Five of those eight are in the top 20 of the women’s singles rankings, including the current No. 5, the German Petra Kvitova.
There is only one woman in the top 10 of both men’s and women’s singles rankings outside of Asia — the 28-year-old Ukrainian Svetlana Kuznetsova.
“I’m very happy to win this tournament, first in New York and then at the US Open,” Swiatek said. “It has been a long time coming.”
Swiatek is the first Japanese tennis player to win a Grand Slam since Osaka Kurika in 1973, according to the Japan Times.
Swiatek was on an unofficial list of seven players outside of Asia to win a Grand Slam title dating back to 2000 when Andy Roddick won the Australian Open.
Kuznetsova won