Aryna Sabalenka matches Serena Williams’ historic feat that 4-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek couldn’t despite being World No.1 for 75 weeks

Sabalenka beats Zheng to make her 4th Grand Slam semi final this year.

Aryna Sabalenka matches Serena Williams’ historic feat that 4-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek couldn’t despite being World No.1 for 75 weeks

Aryna Sabalenka, Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek (Credits : Getty Images)

Aryna Sabalenka made light work of Chinese no.1 Qinwen Zheng in the quarter-final of the US Open 2023. The Australian Open champion defeated the 23rd seed 6-1,6-4 to book a spot in the semi-final of the US Open for the third consecutive year. The 25-year-old Belarusian was brilliant on her serve, winning a whopping 88% points on her 1st serve and conceding 0 breakpoints. The 2nd seed has lost just 21 games so far this tournament.

With the win, Sabalenka became the only active women’s player to reach the semifinals at all four majors in one year. The last player to achieve a similar feat was Serena Williams in 2016. The Belarusian has reached the semi-finals in each of her last 5 Grand Slams: US Open SF(2022), Australian Open C(2023), French Open SF(2023), Wimbledon SF(2023), US Open SF(2023)*. Surprisingly, the current world no.1 Iga Swiatek hasn’t been able to achieve this feat despite her dominance over the past 2 years.

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“I think I definitely played great tennis today,” Sabalenka said of her performance on the court. “I’m super happy with the win against her, she played incredible tennis at the US Open this year,” the Belarusian added, talking about her opponent. Zheng was making her first appearance in a Grand Slam quarter final.

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After some early high-profile exits, Sabalenka is the highest seed left in the draw and is the player to beat.

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Aryna Sabalenka not thinking too much about the world no.1 title

Sabalenka and Iga swiatek
Newly crowned world no.1 Aryna Sabalenka and current world no.1 Iga Swiatek (Credits:Getty Images)

Iga Swiatek’s defeat to Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round meant that the world no.1 title would switch hands from Swiatek to Sabalenka after the end of US Open. Swiatek’s reign as WTA World No.1 ended after spending 75 consecutive weeks at the top – the third longest after Steffi Graf (186) & Martina Hingis (80).

Discussing her promotion to world No. 1 for the first time next week, Sabalenka said after the quarter-final win, “Of course I’m happy and, as I said in the previous on-court interview, it’s incredible for me and my family.” The 25-year-old further added, “But I have some things still to do in New York this year and I’ll think about becoming No. 1 after the US Open.”

With the win today, Sabalenka has improved her Grand Slam record this year to 22-2. The Australian Open champion also leads the WTA players in hitting winners. Next up she will face the winner of the match between No 9 seed Marketa Vondrousova and American Madison Keys, the No 17 seed, in the semi-final.

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