By beating Emma Navarro in the French Open round-of-16, Sabalenka achieved one of Williams’ impressive Slam feats.
Aryna Sabalenka is the first player since Serena Williams to win her opening 11 Grand Slam matches of the season in back-to-back years, via OptaAce.
On Monday, world No. 2 Sabalenka ousted 24th-ranked American Emma Navarro 6-3 6-2 to reach the French Open quarterfinal.
For 26-year-old Sabalenka – who successfully defended her Australian Open title earlier this year – it was her 11th Slam win in 2024. At the start of the 2023 season, Sabalenka became a Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open. A few months later, Sabalenka also won her opening five matches at Roland Garros before losing to Karolina Muchova in the semifinal.
The last player to clinch 11 consecutive Slam wins at the start of the season was the great Williams – in 2009 and 2010, the American tennis legend won back-to-back Australian Open titles and also made back-to-back French Open quarterfinals.
Sabalenka will be looking to prolong her Slam streak when she takes on Mirra Andreeva
In her next match, Sabalenka plays against rising Russian star Andreeva, who defeated Varvara Gracheva. When Sabalenka and 17-year-old Andreeva, it will already be their third meeting on the main level.
In 2023 May, it was Sabalenka who ended Andreeva’s Madrid Open run in the round-of-16 after beating the big Russian talent 6-3 6-1. At the time, the match was played just two days after Andreeva turned 16. At this year’s Madrid Open, Sabalenka and Andreeva met for the second time in their careers. And again, it was Sabalenka who ended on the winning side after earning a 6-1 6-4 win.
Going into their French Open match, Sabalenka is undoubtedly the favorite to beat Andreeva again and reach back-to-back French Open semifinals. For Sabalenka, the goal is pretty clear at this year’s French Open – the 26-year-old Belarusian wants her first title at Roland Garros and also her third Grand Slam title.