It’s been a dream year for Aryna Sabalenka (WTA No. 2). Among other great brands, she won her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open and will become (from next Monday) the new world number one. The Belarusian, who played in the semifinals of the US Open, has a great brand and is following in the footsteps of white sports legend Serena Williams.
What is this about? Sabalenka defeated Zheng Qinwen 6-1, 6-4 and entered the top four in all Grand Slam events (Australia, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open) this season, becoming the first player since 2017. The first tennis player to achieve this goal. What American Serena Williams, the owner of 23 singles Grand Slam trophies and retired from professional sports, did in 2016.
At that time, thinking of what happened seven years ago, the youngest sisters reached the finals in Australia and Paris, won the championship in London, and bid farewell to the semi-finals in New York.
For her, the Minsk-born champion at Melbourne Park in 2023 means the greatest joy in her short 25 years of age. She knocked out Poland’s Magda Linette in the semifinals and then Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina before sealing the victory in the decisive set in a captivating finale .
A few months later, at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, she could not agree to a final commitment after being knocked out by Czech Karolina Muchova in a suspenseful battle that lasted three hours and nine minutes. It is worth mentioning that the current top ten player in the world, whose position on the track is increasingly consolidated, is still hot in the 2023 US Open, dreaming of lifting her first grand prize.
On the other hand, he was just one step away from the decisive straight on Wimbledon’s hallowed turf. There, she overcame obstacles to face Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, who outclassed her, before losing to the Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova in the final in London.
In this way, Alina, who has entered the semi-finals of the US Open for the third consecutive year, will try to compete for the championship for the first time in her career at Flushing Meadows.
Another equally important fact is that, with the recent victory over China’s Zheng, Sabalenka has now won her first seven Grand Slam quarter-final matches and ranks second in that statistic, given by Retired American Chris Evert led with a hair-raising 48-0.