Aryna Sabalenka reveals which rivals have the ‘best’ forehand, backhand, serve, and return on WTA tour

Aryna Sabalenka is searching for her second title of the season at Indian Wells following her Brisbane International win.

Aryna Sabalenka reveals which rivals have the ‘best’ forehand, backhand, serve, and return on WTA tour

Aryna Sabalenka (Image via WTA/X)

Aryna Sabalenka is bidding for her first singles title in Indian Wells. She started her campaign in the California desert with a 7-6(4), 6-3 win over McCartney Kessler, following which, she named the players she thinks that have the best tennis shots on the WTA tour.

There are four key shots in tennis: forehand, backhand, serve, and return. Sabalenka picked Men’s World No.1 Jannik Sinner for having the best forehand but when she realized that she would have to name WTA players, she joked that on a good day, she would rather choose her name for those four categories, before revealing the names of her rivals.

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Serve, Elena (Rybakina), on a good day. Forehand…Andrey (Rublev), can you help me now? Oh, yeah, Madison (Keys). What else? Volley? Guys, you’re killing me right now. Coco (Gauff) is doing great. Thanks guys for helping me out. Can someone help me? I just have to get through this question. I’m really bad at it…Return? Oh, my God. Iga (Swiatek). Iga is good. I said Elena Rybakina. Volley, (Ash) Barty. Slice, Barty.

Aryna Sabalenka said at the press conference

The aforementioned WTA players are competing in the season’s third WTA 1000 event, except for Barty, who retired in 2022. Defending champion Swiatek is set to lock horns with Karolina Muchova in the fourth round.

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2023 Indian Wells champion Rybakina’s fourth-round opponent is 2025 Dubai Open winner Mirra Andreeva. Gauff is pitted against previous two years’ Indian Wells finalist Maria Sakkari in the third round while reigning Australian Open champion Keys will face Elise Mertens in the third round.

Aryna Sabalenka says Indian Wells feels like a Grand Slam tournament

Aryna Sabalenka entered the Indian Wells Open after disappointing campaigns in the Middle East Swing. She succumbed to a straight-set defeat in the Doha opener; and in Dubai, she lost in her second match.

Aryna Sabalenka (3)
Aryna Sabalenka (Image via WTA/X)

The first seed admitted that her heartbreaking Australian Open final defeat to Madison Keys affected her performance as she “kept thinking about that match.” The “final is already in the past” for Sabalenka because, at present, she’s only focusing on the ‘fifth Grand Slam’.

It felt like a Grand Slam final…the atmosphere was so much fun. She’s (McCartney Kessler) playing incredible tennis, such a tough opponent.

Aryna Sabalenka said during her on-court interview

Sabalenka has faced her third-round opponent Lucia Bronzetti twice. They met at the 2024 Brisbane International and 2024 US Open, which Sabalenka had won.