Iga Swiatek’s consistency in recent times is probably unmatched. But there is Aryna Sabalenka, trying to knock on the door again and again; a force of nature to whom tennis surely owes more success than it has brought her so far, which is not a small number. She has already won three majors and 22 titles, the last one being a big one, in New York. She triumphs again – her second on a major stage this year, after Australia – and her game is evolving, but she is unable to return to the top, a stay she was able to enjoy for only eight weeks, between September and November of last year. The Pole is unapproachable today, praise for consistency. “But honestly, I don’t focus on the rankings,” she says after beating Jessica Pegula (double 7-5, in 1h 53m) and thus rounding off an exceptional 2024, in which, despite lacking a seat, she can be said to have imposed herself at the top.
While not long ago a general lack of stability was being blamed, she and Swiatek continue to rise and offer ample evidence that they are several bodies ahead of the others. Now the superiority is evident in Flushing Meadows, where the champion reaffirms her will to leave her mark. “After losing my father, my goal has always been to inscribe my family’s name in the history of tennis. It means a lot to me, it has always been my dream,” admits the tennis player from Minsk, who cannot hide her desire because on the court she is an open book. Emotional, visceral and previously too extreme, with too many clues for her rival, she is finding the ideal point and finding the necessary composure that is granting her a privileged space and has allowed her to beat Swiatek herself, for whom after what happened on Saturday the alarm bells are ringing again: Sabalenka is coming again, and she is doing it with everything. It is difficult to find a bigger appetite.
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Likewise, it is impossible to find an arm as powerful as hers these days, or so the speedometer reflects. In New York, according to the metrics, her average hitting has risen to 129 km/h, which places her above all female players and also above male players. Carlos Alcaraz’s hits registered 127 km/h and Jannik Sinner’s 126, compared to Novak Djokovic’s 122. There has not been a more devastating forehand these days or throughout the year because, with 476 final shots, she surpasses Jasmine Paolini (475), Qinwen Zheng (431) or Swiatek herself (127). In terms of hitting, there is no comparison and power is her indisputable starting point; however, her nonconformity has enriched her proposal and her palette has been adding nuances. Strength, yes. And something else.
Sabalenka hits the ball with her leg.CJ GUNTHER (EFE)
Far from stagnating or living exclusively from that overflow, the Belarusian has been incorporating a series of nuances that make her less predictable. Speed changes, cuts or drop shots are no longer strange elements in her repertoire. “It is about having a series of options in your pocket, in case you do not feel comfortable from the baseline,” she explains to journalists. “I have actually been working on this variation for a while, but now I am daring to use it in some key moments. I have always thought that it is very important to keep improving yourself. I think that now the rivals feel an extra pressure because they see that I not only know how to hit hard, but that I also have some touch. I am going to continue like this and I hope to be able to do, for example, the serve-volley one day; a kind of Plan C,” she adds.
More unpredictable
The fact is that, despite the fact that the force of the impacts continues to prevail, Sabalenka (26 years old) is looking for alternatives and new ways to unlock herself in adverse circumstances. She is no longer a single-register tennis player, but rather one who practices and sometimes surprises, even though her ground balls continue to cause havoc. Hon, Bronzetti, Alexandrova, Mertens, Zheng, Navarro and at the end of the tournament Pegula have proven this. Although she is still far from the strategic richness and variability of more talented tennis players such as Krejcikova, Muchova, Jabeur or Vondrousova, all of them with a lot of skill, she is uncovering an improved and more unpredictable version that can give her juicy benefits, without losing the essence or the fierceness so characteristic.
Sabalenka hugs a member of her team.SARAH YENESEL (EFE)
“Women’s tennis has improved a lot,” she says. “Five years ago, for example, I was totally different to how I am now. All women are stronger mentally and the speed of the game has increased,” she continues. “I have become a consistent and experienced player. Before, I put a lot of pressure on myself and getting to the second week [de un grande] “It was a huge stress for me; I didn’t know how to manage my emotions, I spent my days off thinking about tennis and it took a lot of energy. Now I try to take it easy, I’m aware of what I can control and what I can’t. I’ve learned to enjoy this profession,” she says.
Now sitting in second place in the rankings, Sabalenka continues to reassert herself as Swiatek’s toughest opponent, and is slowly beginning to match her name with top-level professionals. In addition to her charisma and spectacular game, she has also achieved a very high percentage of victories in majors this season; with 97.4%, she is very close to those recorded by Belgian Justine Henin (95%) or Serena Williams, who reached 100% (2002), or 96% and 95% (in 2003 and 2015, respectively). She is also the fifth woman in the Open Era (1968) to conquer the Melbourne and New York cement in the same year, after Steffi Graf (1998 and 1989), Monica Seles (1991 and 1992), Martina Hingis (1997) and Angelique Kerber (2016) as the most recent reference.
10 YEARS LATER, WITHOUT NEW CHAMPIONS
AC | New York
Finally, Sabalenka has won two of the four Grand Slam titles in 2024. At Roland Garros, Swiatek won again and at Wimbledon, Krejcikova did the same. Thus, for the first time in a decade (2014), the history of the tournament will not reflect the name of new Grand Slam champions, because there have always been new ones in between.
The current champions are Flavia Pennetta (2016), Angelique Kerber and Garbiñe Muguruza (2016), Jelena Ostapenko and Sloane Stephens (2017), Carolina Wozniacki, Simona Halep and Naomi Osaka (2018), Asheigh Barty and Bianca Andreescu (2019), Sophia Kenin and Swiatek (2020), Barbora Krejcikova and Emma Raducanu (2021), Elena Rybakina (2022) and Sabalenka, Marketa Vondrousova and Coco Gauff (2023).
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