Andrea Petkovic Snubs Coco Gauff, Calls Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka the ‘Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’ of WTA Tour

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, and Coco Gauff will aim to double their US Open tally this season.

Andrea Petkovic Snubs Coco Gauff, Calls Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka the ‘Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’ of WTA Tour

Andrea Petkovic, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek (Image via X/WELT, Jannik Sinner HQ, We Are Tennis, The Tennis Letter)

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According to former player Andrea Petkovic, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are the Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz of the WTA tour. This season, these four stars have reached at least one final of the first three Grand Slam events (Sinner – 3, Alcaraz – 2, Sabalenka – 2, and Swiatek – 1).

Sabalenka played the championship match of the Australian Open and the French Open, losing both to Madison Keys and Coco Gauff. Swiatek couldn’t lift her fifth Roland Garros title as she was defeated in the semifinals by the Belarusian, who even handed the Pole a bagel in the third set.

The 24-year-old, however, ended up reaching the final of Wimbledon, which lasted for just 57 minutes and saw Swiatek prevail over Amanda Anisimova with a 6-0, 6-0 scoreline. She lifted her career’s first grass-court at SW19.

Sinner won the Australian Open, then came close to the French Open title, but the Spaniard saved three championship points in the fourth set to defend his title. Both players then scheduled a blockbuster clash in the Wimbledon final, but this time, Sinner was successful in avenging his defeat, registering his first win over the five-time Grand Slam champion after five consecutive defeats.

Gauff, on the other hand, lost five consecutive tournaments without making deep runs after her defeat in the Australian Open quarterfinal. But on the clay swing, she made it to three finals, including at the French Open, which she claimed for the first time in her career with a three-set win over Sabalenka.

On the grass swing, however, Gauff failed to go beyond he first round of the Berlin Open as well as Wimbledon. According to Petkovic, when Sabalenka and Swiatek play their best tennis, they are way ahead of their competitors. Petkovic said on the Becker Petkovic podcast:

I’ve said it several times, for me, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are the two best players in the world. They’re like Sinner and Alcaraz. The problem is, they’re not as consistent as Sinner and Alcaraz at the Grand Slams. The others, the Gauff’s, the [Jessica] Pegula’s, can knock them out every now and then, which happens less with the men.

Last year, Swiatek lifted the most titles on the WTA tour- five, while Sabalenka reached seven finals and won four trophies, including the Australian Open and the US Open. Gauff had played three finals, winning all. Pegula won two and lost two finals.

This year, too, they have progressed to multiple finals. Sabalenka has played seven finals and won three titles. Pegula has reached five finals, winning three. Gauff and Swiatek have made it to three and two finals, respectively.

Jimmy Connors warns Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner to be wary of Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic was defeated in the semifinals of the first three Grand Slam events. At the Australian Open, a hamstring injury forced the Serb to hand the walkover to World No.3 Alexander Zverev.

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (2)
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

Then at the French Open and Wimbledon, the 24-time Grand Slam champion was defeated in the semifinals by Jannik Sinner. Former player Jimmy Connors thinks Djokovic would bounce back to end his Grand Slam title drought at the US Open. He said on the Advantage Connors podcast:

Losing three straight sets like that. He is not used to that, that’s not him, that’s not his game. So believe me, the guy can come up with something up his sleeve for the US Open, which might just surprise a lot of people, and you know what, I would love to see it.

Djokovic, for the first time since 2017, suffered defeat at SW19 without reaching the final. In the last two years, Carlos Alcaraz denied him the win. The 38-year-old last lifted a Major at the 2023 US Open.

Also read: Hubert Hurkacz Claims Tennis with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz is on a Whole New Level Beyond the Big 4