Aryna Sabalenka admits that finishing the year as world No 1 is “one of her goals” despite trying to switch her “focus” solely onto her China Open campaign.
World No 2 Sabalenka has been handed the chance to significantly close the gap on world No 1 Iga Swiatek in Beijing, the first of two back-to-back WTA 1000 events in China.
A strong summer saw Sabalenka lift the Cincinnati and US Open titles and decrease the Pole’s advantage, which will shrink further after Swiatek pulled out of her China Open title defence.
Victory in Beijing could move Sabalenka within 400 points of Swiatek, potentially enabling her to return to world No 1 with a similarly strong run at the Wuhan Open in two weeks.
The Belarusian was world No 1 for eight weeks in 2023 but just missed out on finishing the season at the top of the WTA Rankings, with Swiatek’s WTA Finals victory seeing her usurp her rival.
Sabalenka has conceded a return to the top of the WTA Rankings is a goal of hers, but that she is now trying to focus solely on lifting her fourth title of 2024.
“That’s one of my goals, to finish the season at world No 1,” said Sabalenka.
“I’m not trying to focus on that. I’m trying to focus on my game. There are only three tournaments left. 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 world No 1 or have to improve something else to get to world No 1.
“To be called the best player in the world, that’s really means a lot. My whole life, I’ve been working so hard to get to the top hundred, then the top 50, the top 10, get into the top two.
“If one day I’ll be world No 1 [again], 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 that, hours of training, wasn’t a waste of time.”
Sabalenka is a warm favourite for the title in Beijing, with key rivals Swiatek and Elena Rybakina both absent.
The world No 2 is the top seed in the 96-player draw and has received an opening round bye, before a potential second round meeting against a qualifier or lucky loser.
She is projected to face seventh seed Barbora Krejcikova in the quarter-final, before a semi-final against third seed Jasmine Paolini and final against second seed Jessica Pegula.
Sabalenka beat Pegula in both the Cincinnati and US Open finals and comes into Beijing on a 12-match winning streak.
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