She was one set away from being world number one but retired without winning a Grand Slam title

Agnieszka Radwanska was within touching distance of being officially the best player on the WTA Tour.

Iga Swiatek now flies the flag for Polish women’s tennis as a six-time Grand Slam champion, but before her came Radwanska.

Radwanska was a history-maker for her country, as before she arrived on the WTA Tour, no Polish woman had ever been in the top 30 of the world rankings.

This is something that Radwanska far surpassed, as she achieved a career-high ranking of world number two, but she was just one set away from becoming world number one.

Agnieszka Radwanska would have been world number one if she won the Wimbledon final

Radwanska was a consistent top 15 player coming into the 2012 season, which she began as the world number eight.

The Pole took it to another level in 2012, as Radwanska claimed three more WTA titles, including her second WTA 1000 title at the Miami Open, as she made her top five debut and was the world number three heading into the clay court season.

After a relatively disappointing Roland Garros, with Radwanska losing in the third round, she set her sights on the grass court season.

Radwanska was a two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist, which was her best result at any major tournament at the time, but she lost her only grass court match heading into The Championships.

Despite this, world number three Radwanska had an outside chance of becoming world number one, as she attempted to overtake Maria Sharapova, with Victoria Azarenka also in contention to top the rankings.

Sharapova’s position as world number one became even more vulnerable after she lost in the fourth round, with Azarenka confirmed to overtake her in the rankings after she reached the Wimbledon semi-finals.

However, after Azarenka lost in this semi-final against Serena Williams, it meant that her return to world number one was not yet sealed.

Instead, that was in Radwanska’s hands, after she beat the likes of Maria Kirilenko and Angelique Kerber to reach her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon. Radwanska knew that if she won the Wimbledon final then she would become world number one, as she took on the aforementioned Williams, who was a four-time former champion at the time.

Facing Williams in a Grand Slam final was always going to be a tough test for Radwanska, especially as she had not won a set against her in their two previous meetings.

Radwanska looked to be heading for another straight set defeat against Williams, before she fought back to force a deciding set against her opponent. However, ultimately Williams was able to get the upper hand, as she beat Radwanska 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.

Not only did Radwanska miss out on her chance to become Wimbledon champion, but she also missed her opportunity to top the WTA rankings.

What Agnieszka Radwanska said she did not expect after retiring from tennis

Radwanska was never able to reach another Grand Slam final in her career, but she did still win more big titles. This includes winning the WTA Finals in 2015 and a total of five WTA 1000 tournaments.

The final title of Radwanska’s career was also a WTA 1000 tournament, as she won the China Open for the second time in 2016.

Radwanska faced more struggles in the latter two years of her career, particularly due to a chronic foot injury.

After a disrupted 2018 season due to this injury, which also contributed to a drop-off in form and ranking for Radwanska, she announced that she would be retiring from tennis at just 29 years old.

Radwanska received a number of messages following her retirement announcement, including from Andy Murray and Williams, something she admitted she did not expect as a result of her lack of major success.

“I didn’t expect this huge reaction,” Radwanska said at the time. “The reality of the situation actually hit me at this point. I was never number one, never won Wimbledon, yet I must have done something good in order for so many famous names to remember me.”

Radwanska still remains part of the tennis world, as she often helps coach her compatriot Magda Linette and has also been a co-captain for the Polish United Cup team.