Former German tennis player Andrea Petkovic believes that the likes of the world number one Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff should face each other more often to become global stars.
All four players currently hold the top-four spot in the WTA rankings and can easily be described as the four best players in the women’s singles category. Petkovic was recently quoted in a report where she stated that if all four face each other regularly, they can have a rivalry which will be equal to what Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have in the men’s singles category.
“We have more surprises in women’s tennis than in men’s tennis thanks to the best-of-three matches, even at Grand Slam events, where the favourite is more likely to get out of a tricky situation in the best-of-five mode,” she said.
“Nevertheless, I see the quartet mentioned as a tick above all the others. It would be desirable for these four to play each other more often. This is the case at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, but overall it still happens too rarely. If that changes, these players will become stars who shine beyond the world of tennis – and we will have rivalries like the one between Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner.”
Coco’s DAY! 👏👏👏@CocoGauff books her spot into the final eight after defeating Mertens 6-0, 6-2. #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/XPexuhs7R9
— wta (@WTA) March 13, 2024