Aryna Sabalenka described her latest Grand Slam win as “very special” because it came after she battled some personal challenges and also highlighted that her next big goal is returning to the world No. 1 spot.
This past Saturday, the Belarusian tennis star lifted her first US Open title and third Major trophy overall after defeating Jessica Pegula 7-5 7-5 in the final at Flushing Meadows.
After successfully defending her Australian Open title in January, the world No. 2 went through a very traumatic experience after her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov committed suicide in March. Then, Sabalenka sustained a very unfortunate shoulder in Berlin and she was forced to miss Wimbledon – something that was extremely painful for her.
But now, the 26-year-old is back to winning on the biggest possible stage.
“That’s why I’m I’m telling you that this one is very special, because of so many things I had to overcome in the past and especially this season and still be able to compete on my highest level and to get this beautiful trophy. It’s even sweeter because after you’re fighting something on and off the court and facing so many challenges and at the end you’re you’re still getting this trophy,” Sabalenka said on the WTA Insider Podcast.
Sabalenka warns Swiatek: I’m hungry for the top spot
Exactly 12 months ago, the Belarusian became the top-ranked for the first time in her career after the US Open. But unfortunately for the now three-time Slam champion, her reign wasn’t as long as she probably hoped since she spent only eight weeks there before Swiatek managed to overtake her at the WTA Finals and finish as the Year-End No. 1.
Since then, there haven’t been any changes at the top spot. But while the Pole currently has 10,885 ranking points and the current world No. 2 has 8,716 points, it should be noted that the reigning US Open winner doesn’t have many points to defend in the rest year and she could definitely at least reduce some of that lead in the rest of the season – if not overtake the 23-year-old.
When it comes to the Year-End No. 1 battle between the two, it is much tighter since Swiatek’s lead is just 409 points.
“I’m still hungry, for sure. Another goal for sure is to try to become World No.1 again. But I don’t want to talk about this goal. I’m just trying to keep improving myself and keep getting better every day. But now I’ll definitely have some days off so I can just enjoy this win and I can switch off and forget about tennis for a little bit. So I’ll keep this freshness till the end of the season,” Sabalenka noted.
“Six weeks is not that much. But now I’ll definitely have some days off so I can just enjoy this win and I can switch off and forget about tennis for a little bit. So I’ll keep this freshness till the end of the season. Six weeks is not that much.”
Do you remember what Swiatek said about Sabalenka becoming No. 1?
After becoming a Grand Slam champion at the 2023 Australian Open, the Belarusian tennis star underlined that her next big goal was to also accomplish her dream of becoming the top-ranked player in the world for the first time in her career. And after the Pole didn’t have a great summer and suffered a shock round-of-16 exit at Flushing Meadows last year, Sabalenka was guaranteed to overthrow the 23-year-old from the top spot after the US Open.
And while the Pole managed to regain the world No. 1 spot at the very end of the season, she acknowledged that the Belarusian deserved to reach the top ranking in 2023.
“She deserved it. She had a great season. She won a Grand Slam, was in the final of another Grand Slam and in two semi-finals, so it was an amazing season. I just preferred to focus on other things, because the pressure related to the No. 1 spot was a bit overwhelming in the middle of the season. For this reason, I didn’t play very freely until the US Open, and then I knew that I just had to change this attitude and approach the next tournaments differently, just be a different player who didn’t focus on all that things,” Swiatek said after concluding her 2023 season.
In the remainder of the year, there are two WTA 1000 events in Beijing and Wuhan, as well as the WTA Finals. If Sabalenka manages to keep her great and have a strong finish to the year, she might as well earn her first Year-End No. 1 achievement in 2024.
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