Towards the end of the year, Aryna Sabalenka hopes to be the world’s top-ranked tennis player. Following the news that world No. 1 Iga Swiatek withdrew due to personal circumstances, the Belarusian is the top seed for this week’s China Open, and it now presents Sabalenka with an opportunity to get closer to her goal.
Trailing Iga Swiatek by 2169 points, Sabalenka is presently ranked second in the WTA rankings. She had been first in line between September and October of the previous year, when the Pole passed her. With the season coming to an end, Sabalenka said that one of her primary goals is to regain that top position.
The athlete said: “Of course, that’s one of my goals, to finish the season at world number one… I’m not trying to focus on that, I’m trying to focus on my game. There are only three tournaments left.”
She added: “I’m just trying to bring my best tennis on court. After the season, I’ll see if it was enough to finish the year at number one or have to improve something else to get to number one.”
Amazing year for Sabalenka
After winning a Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open to start the 2024 season, Sabalenka has already had an incredible year.
Things took a turn for the worse in the spring and early summer after she was injured and missed Wimbledon. She was shocked to lose to Mirra Andreeva in the Roland Garros quarter-final. Nonetheless, Sabalenka won the Cincinnati Open and went on to win the US Open, where she defeated Jessica Pegula in the championship match.
“To be called the best player in the world, that means everything…It’s good to know that you’ve been doing the right thing, all of those hours of training wasn’t a waste of time,” Sabalenka declared.
As the top seed in Beijing, Sabalenka advances to the second round with a bye and will play against one of two qualifiers, Mananchaya Sawangkaew or Zarina Diyas.
Source: Eurosport