Aryna Sabalenka’s Handling of Hectic Calendar Amid Intense Criticism Leaves Former World No.1 Impressed
Aryna Sabalenka has won four titles this year, including the US Open by defeating Amanda Anisimova.
Follow Us
Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/Roland Garros)
🔍 Explore this post with:
Aryna Sabalenka was last seen in action at the Wuhan Open, where she played as the defending champion, but her run ended in the semifinals as eventual runner-up Jessica Pegula knocked her out in straight sets. Sabalenka is not playing in any event this week, preferring to prepare well by staying on the sidelines ahead of the WTA Finals.
The WTA Finals are scheduled to start on November 1. Sabalenka, a runner-up in the 2022 WTA Finals, is bidding to win her first title. Last year, she lost to eventual champion Coco Gauff in the semifinals. Sabalenka was lauded by former World No.1 Lindsay Davenport for the way she is handling her schedule. She said on Tennis Channel:
It’s not a great feeling when you’re ranked number one and not win a Major during the calendar year, and that was her goal for the entire season was to win Majors and part of the reason why she was so despondent after losing in Australia, she did not handle the moment well in Paris at all.
Many top players have complained about the 11-month calendar. But Sabalenka, instead of signing up for tournaments one after the other, deemed it best to focus more on the Grand Slam events by skipping a few events.
I love the way she’s approached it, compared to some other players who kind of just choose to play in everything. She’s all about the big tournaments, all about the Majors, isn’t really worried about the fall, went and played one tournament in Wuhan, and now getting ready for the WTA Finals and just trying to enjoy the process as well.
Lindsay Davenport added
She skipped the Canadian Open, despite it falling under the category of mandatory tournaments. On the Asian swing, the Belarusian ace only played the Wuhan Open, skipping the China Open, again, a mandatory tournament.
Andy Roddick calls Elena Rybakina’s serve better than Aryna Sabalenka’s
Who is the best server on the WTA Tour at present? During his Served podcast, Andy Roddick did not hesitate to name Elena Rybakina, saying she is at the top, even ahead of Aryna Sabalenka, when it comes to service games.
When she is in full flight, I think she has the best serve in the world. I don’t know that it’s that close. Maybe Aryna, when she is really serving well. But Rybakina can hit all four spots on the court. Deuce side, ad side, off of the same toss, over and over.
Rybakina, so far this season, has reached two finals, ending both in her favor. She went past Liudmila Samsonova at the Strasbourg Open and Ekaterina Alexandrova in the recently concluded Ningbo Open.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion is in Tokyo, playing the Pan Pacific Open, where she first knocked out 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez to schedule the quarterfinal clash with reigning Canadian Open champion Victoria Mboko.
Rybakina has never won a title in the Pan Pacific Open, which is a WTA 500 Tournament. The win over Mboko has helped the Kazakh ace move an inch closer to qualifying for the WTA Finals.
The players who have already booked a ticket for Riyadh are: Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, and Jasmine Paolini. Gauff will enter the tournament as the defending champion. Last year, she defeated Qinwen Zheng, who failed to grab a spot this time.
From these players, only Swiatek and Gauff have won the WTA Finals. Pegula was the runner-up in 2023, losing the match to the six-time Grand Slam champion. Sabalenka lost the final in 2022 to Caroline Garcia.
Also read: “What are You Referring to?” Andy Roddick Urges Clarity from Novak Djokovic on ‘Monopoly’ Comment
/techfirstnow/media/agency_attachments/kATjCXskQdJKkXN0OuqW.png)