The battle for the WTA World No. 1 ranking has been a captivating saga in 2025, with Poland’s Iga Swiatek and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka locked in a fierce rivalry that has pushed both players to their limits. Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion, recently opened up about the emotional toll of losing her top spot to Sabalenka in October 2024, a moment that left her grappling with feelings of injustice and frustration. “I deserved to be No. 1, it was taken away from me,” Swiatek confessed, revealing the raw emotions that accompanied her slide to No. 3 after a dominant 125-week reign as the world’s best. Her candid reflections, shared ahead of the 2025 Canadian Open, offer a glimpse into the mental and emotional challenges faced by one of tennis’s brightest stars.
Swiatek’s 2024 season was a mix of triumphs and tribulations. She started the year strongly, clinching her fourth French Open title and adding crowns in Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid, and Rome, bringing her career total to 23 WTA singles titles. Her clay-court dominance, including a straight-sets victory over Sabalenka at the Italian Open, solidified her reputation as the “Queen of Roland Garros.” However, a one-month suspension in November 2024 for a positive test for trimetazidine, later attributed to contaminated sleep medication, forced her to miss three tournaments and forfeit prize money from the Cincinnati Open. The penalty, deemed the lowest for “No Significant Fault or Negligence,” disrupted her momentum. “Last year, I lost number one in September or October. I had many different stuff to work on and to focus on,” Swiatek said, reflecting on the chaos of her doping case and the emotional weight of her ranking drop. “It started with my case and coming back after the case and all these mixed feelings that I had.”
The turning point came after the US Open, where Swiatek fell in the quarterfinals to Jessica Pegula, who was then defeated by Sabalenka in the final. Sabalenka’s stellar season, including titles at the Australian Open, Cincinnati, Wuhan, and the US Open, propelled her back to No. 1 on October 21, 2024, ending Swiatek’s 11-month reign. The shift wasn’t solely due to on-court results; both players faced point deductions for failing to meet the WTA’s mandatory six WTA 500 tournament appearances. Swiatek, who competed in only two (United Cup and Stuttgart), lost 120 points from her Miami Open fourth-round exit, while Sabalenka, with four appearances, dropped just 10 points from Dubai. This narrow 41-point gap—9,706 to Swiatek’s 9,665—tipped the scales. “I felt I’m playing good and not a lot of humility but I felt I deserve to be number one,” Swiatek admitted. “And it was taken away from me and having these kind of feelings didn’t help me for next months, I just felt like the world is not fair.”
Swiatek’s vulnerability resonated with fans, who flooded social media with support, though some questioned her perspective, pointing to Sabalenka’s consistent excellence. “I know it’s pretty childish and I’m a top tennis player, so I shouldn’t be angry about things like that,” Swiatek acknowledged. “I should be kind of grateful, but it took me a while to get over it and to focus on the future instead of the past.” Her resilience shone through at Wimbledon 2025, where she claimed her first title on grass, defeating Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 to reclaim a top-three ranking with 6,813 points, trailing Sabalenka’s 12,420 and Coco Gauff’s 7,669. The victory, her sixth Grand Slam, moved her past Simona Halep and Maria Sharapova on the WTA prize money list, with over $30 million earned.
Sabalenka, meanwhile, has solidified her dominance, becoming the third woman after Serena Williams and Swiatek to surpass 11,000 ranking points. Her 2025 French Open semi-final win over Swiatek, a 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-0 thriller, underscored her power-driven game and mental toughness, especially after overcoming a shoulder injury that forced her Wimbledon withdrawal. “I hope she’ll figure out the coach situation and she’ll be back in the finals in her best shape,” Sabalenka said of Swiatek in Wuhan, expressing respect for her rival while eyeing the year-end No. 1 spot at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, starting November 2.
Swiatek’s coaching transition, parting with Tomasz Wiktorowski after three years and hiring Wim Fissette, adds another layer to her journey. As she prepares to face Guo Hanyu in the Canadian Open’s first round, Swiatek remains focused on reclaiming the top spot. “She’s a great player. She deserves to be world No 1,” Swiatek said of Sabalenka, but added, “For sure I’m going to fight for me to be in that place.” With their head-to-head record at 8-5 in Swiatek’s favor, including epic clashes at Madrid and Rome, the stage is set for a dramatic showdown in Riyadh, where 1,500 points are up for grabs. As Swiatek battles to overcome her “breaking point” and Sabalenka defends her lead, their rivalry continues to captivate, promising more unforgettable moments in women’s tennis.
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