Professional tennis player Aryna Sabalenka dethrones former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek after months of trailing her in the WTA race.
No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka fell to the American Coco Guaff in the US Open final, winning by 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a physical three-set match. Although heartbroken after losing the third set, Sabalenka had a monumental moment in her career waiting for on the Monday after the US Open.
“If somebody would ever tell me when I just started to play tennis that one day I’ll be number one in the world, I probably would never believe in that,” Sabalenka stated in her Instagram post.
Aryna Sabalenka has made the last five consecutive grand slam semi-finals, making two finals out of the five and winning the Australian Open. She played her best tennis when she won the Australian Open with 51 winners and 17 aces. Sabalenka’s game is often compared to the men’s game because of her forehand and serve speed.
“I’m most proud that I was able to, most of the time, handle my emotions pretty well and focus on myself, not on the ranking. I think this is the best thing about this year,” Sabalenka expressed in her post-match interview.
Swiatek, former world No. 1 for 75 weeks consecutively, was taken out by Jelena Ostepanko, who was leading the head-to-head against Swiatek 3-0. This is an irregularity because although Swiatek is such a consistent player, Ostapenko uses her power to combat Swiatek’s spin. Because of this fourth-round loss, Sabalenka got a leg up in the WTA race surpassing Swiatek when she made it to the finals.
