Aryna Sabalenka rose on September 4th as the potential new No. 1 player in the WTA rankings. Due to Iga Swiatek’s defeat against Jelena Ostapenko just before midnight on Sunday, Sabalenka claimed the top spot in the WTA rankings at the US Open.
Aryna claimed that after rising to the top rank, she received various congratulations, but Novak Djokovic texted the most hilarious one. She said: “The funniest 1 was from Djokovic. Because he also will be world #1 after the US Open. Someone mentioned us with funny sunglasses & he just sent me ‘Smile if you’ll become world #1’. It was the funniest one.”
Sabalenka revealed that Djokovic gave her a congratulations message in which he advised her to “smile if you are going to become world no 1”. At the tour, both of the world’s number-one players shared a fist shake. Sabalenka stated that her focus is on winning the second Grand Slam title of the year rather than thinking about her ranking.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) September 5, 2023
Aryna Sabalenka says Novak Djokovic congratulated her on becoming world #1:
“The funniest 1 was from Djokovic. Bc he also will be world #1 after US Open. Someone mentioned us with funny sunglasses & he just sent me ‘Smile if you’ll become world #1.’ It was the funniest one” ❤️ pic.twitter.com/uzzfK122AB
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 5, 2023
Sabalenka at the U.S. Open, ranking, and results in 2023
LWLWWWWLWW At the moment ranked no.2 (career-high), the Belarussian owns an overall 48-10 record in 2023. Sabalenka is now having a run at the U.S. Open where she managed to beat the world no.112 Maryna Zanevska 6-3 6-2, the world no.96 Jodie Anna Burrage 6-3 6-2, the world no.62 Clara Burel 6-1 6-1 and the world no.14 Daria Kasatkina 6-1 6-3.
Aryna Sabalenka will come up against the world no.23 Qinwen Zheng in the quarter. In the past, they have never played each other till now on the main tour.
The Belarussian conquered 3 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open and Madrid. The Belarussian was the finalist in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open) and in Stuttgart (Porsche Tennis Grand Prix).
Aryna won 13 titles in her career: 9 on hard courts, 2 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Djokovic at the U.S. Open, ranking, and results in 2023
WWLWWWWWWW At the moment ranked no.2, the Serbian has managed to achieve an overall 42-5 match record in 2023. The Serbian is competing at the U.S. Open where he managed to beat the world no.84 Alexandre Muller 6-0 6-2 6-3, the world no.76 Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4 6-1 6-1, the world no.38 Laslo Djere 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-1 6-3 and the world no.105 Borna Gojo 6-2 7-5 6-4.
Novak Djokovic will come up against the world no.9 Taylor Fritz in the quarter on Tuesday at 2:00 pm on ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM. Their current record is 7-0 for Djokovic.
Novak has won 4 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open, French Open and Cincinnati. The Serbian was the runner-up in Wimbledon.
The Serbian won 95 titles in his career: 51 on hard courts, 19 on clay courts, 17 on indoor courts and 8 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
