Grand Slam Champion Picks Most Successful WTA Player in 2025 Between Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are both in Wuhan for the last WTA 1000 tournament of the season. The former kick-started her campaign by handing the double breadstick to Marie Bouzkova to schedule a third-round clash with Belinda Bencic.

Sabalenka came from a set down to knock out Rebecca Sramkova. She is set to square off against Liudmila Samsonova. The Belarusian will only meet Swiatek if they both reach the final.

Sabalenka has so far played eight finals, including at the Australian Open, French Open, and the US Open, winning only the New York Major. Swiatek was struggling earlier this year and reached her first final at the Bad Homburg Open before ending her title drought at Wimbledon by double-bageling Amanda Anisimova in the final. Two-time Grand Slam champion Tracy Austin picked Sabalenka as the most successful player on the WTA Tour this season. She told the Tennis Channel:

Without a doubt, it’s Sabalenka. Sabalenka has won four titles, so she’s won more than anyone else. It’s kind of become, at the end of the year, kind of towards the middle and towards the end, that Swiatek’s been dominant. Sabalenka has been the most successful player this year, with the most wins, and I think that’s why it was so important for her to cap it off with that US Open title. But it was good to see Swiatek start to play better.

Sabalenka is bidding to defend her title as well as become a record-breaking four-time Wuhan Open champion. Before this season, Swiatek had never participated in the Wuhan WTA 1000 event, skipping it last year because of her three-week provisional suspension.

The Wuhan Open is Sabalenka’s first tournament since her US Open victory over Anisimova. Swiatek, however, featured in two tournaments on the Asian swing before arriving in Wuhan. She clinched her third title of the season by beating Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Korea Open final, but suffered a fourth-round defeat to Emma Navarro at the China Open.

Swiatek won’t be able to dethrone Sabalenka from the top of the rankings table even if she clinches the Wuhan Open and adds 1000 ranking points. At present, the six-time Grand Slam champion has 8673 points, while Sabalenka has 10130 points on the live rankings.

Aryna Sabalenka reflects on her match against Rebecca Sramkova

Aryna Sabalenka now holds a 1-0 head-to-head over Rebecca Sramkova. During the on-court interview, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion admitted that she knew finding her rhythm in the first match after a lengthy break would be a bit difficult.

Honestly, I did not expect that much support in the first round, and it felt really incredible playing in front of you. Thank you guys for coming! She played incredible tennis, especially in the first set. There was not much I could do against her. But I knew after that little break [after the US Open] it would not be easy to get back into the rhythm, but I’m really glad in the second set I found my game, and I stepped in and I think I played really great.

Sabalenka is chasing her 10th WTA 1000 title, the last of which she won at the Madrid Open by beating Coco Gauff. Apart from Madrid, the 27-year-old also clinched her first Sunshine Doubles singles title at the Miami Open. In Wuhan, Sabalenka has yet to suffer a defeat in her career.

She made her Wuhan Open debut in 2018 and ended her campaign by beating Anett Kontaveit. Sabalenka then defended her title by going past Alison Riske. The Wuhan Open was not held from 2020 to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and when it finally became a part of the WTA tour in 2024, Sabalenka denied local star Qinwen Zheng the win in the final.

Also read: Alexander Zverev Makes Explosive Statements About his Form and Health After Shanghai Exit

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