Aryna Sabalenka’s journey to the world no. 1 spot was remarkable as she posed with the Chris Evert trophy for the first time in the most recent WTA photograph. Iga Swiatek’s 75-week reign as no. 1 came to an end on Monday when Aryna Sabalenka took over following her US Open runner-up finish.
The Belarusian celebrated her outstanding WTA ranking accomplishment with an official WTA photoshoot in New York City just one day after suffering a crushing defeat in the US Open. As the 29th WTA No. 1 in history, Aryna Sabalenka has now joined an elite group of 28 other female tennis players.
Sabalenka posted her achievement on her official Instagram account and wrote: “If somebody would ever tell me when I just started to play tennis that one day I’ll be number one in the world. I probably would never believe in that but I am very fortunate and thankful that I had so much support throughout my whole life from my family and people around me to achieve what I have today!”
She further thanked all the supporters and said: “Thanks to everyone for your warm messages you make me feel very special. Hungry for more.”
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Aryna Sabalenka in 2023
At the moment ranked no.1, Sabalenka played her last match on the 9th of September when she was overcome by world no.3 Cori Gauff 2-6 6-3 6-2 in the final of the U.S. Open (draw).
At the moment, during this season the Belarussian has managed to achieve a compiled 50-11 match record. The Belarussian conquered 3 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open and Madrid. Sabalenka reached the final in Indian Wells, Stuttgart and U.S. Open.