Aryna Sabalenka has spoken out about her odd comeback to the top of the rankings. Iga Swiatek missed the entire Asian swing, so the Belarusian was already poised to surpass the Pole as the world’s No. 1 player. But when the WTA penalized players for missing mandatory tournaments, Sabalenka returned to the top sooner than anticipated.
Now, the three-time Grand Slam champion has admitted that she was unaware that she had taken back the top spot until her boyfriend congratulated her.
Both players were later found to have been penalized for not participating in the required six WTA 500 tournaments. They were punished by receiving zeroes, which essentially meant that the points they had accrued at their worst tournaments this year were given away.
The Belarusian was able to regain his position as the best player in the world because Swiatek dropped more points than Sabalenka. The top-ranked person in the world has now acknowledged that she was unaware of the impending shift.
The 26-year-old said ahead of the WTA Finals: “Yeah, I actually didn’t know that’s what’s going to happen. I was like, How? What happened? Where did she lose this hundred points or whenever? It’s tricky. I didn’t expect that. I just woke up another morning. My boyfriend actually told me like, ‘Oh, congrats, you became world No. 1.’ I’m like, ‘What?”
Sabalenka wants to secure the year-end No. 1 ranking at this week’s year-end championships, even though she is deserving of her position given that she won two Grand Slams and two other titles this year.
She continued: “I didn’t know anything at that moment. Whatever, I’ll take it. As I always say, I want to finish the year as world No. 1, then I’ll be like okay, I’ll be more confident in saying I’m world No. 1, not because someone lost a hundred points and that’s how I became world No. 1. I know throughout the year I was pushing, winning a lot. It’s kind of not like I didn’t do anything. I was quite good, quite decent this year. But still for me, for my crazy mind, it would be better to finish the year as world No. 1.”
Aryna Sabalenka in 2024
At the moment ranked no.1, Aryna played her last match on the 2nd of November when she beat world no.7 Qinwen Zheng 6-3 6-4 in the round robin in Riyadh (draw).
Currently, during this year Aryna has a 55-12 match record. The Belarussian clinched 4 titles in 2024 at the Australian Open, Cincinnati, U.S. Open and Wuhan. The Belarussian got to the final in Brisbane, Madrid and Rome.
Aryna Sabalenka will fight against the world no.450 Petra Kvitova in the final on Saturday at 6:00 pm on CENTRE COURT. Their current record is 3-2 for Kvitova.
The Belarussian clinched 4 titles in 2024 at the Australian Open, Cincinnati, U.S. Open and Wuhan. The Belarussian got to the final in Brisbane (Brisbane International), in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) and in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia).
Sabalenka won 17 titles in her career: 13 on hard courts, 2 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Iga Swiatek in 2024
Ranked world no.2, Swiatek played her last match on the 3rd of November when she beat world no.13 Barbora Krejcikova 4-6 7-5 6-2
in the round robin in Riyadh (draw).At present, during this year Swiatek has managed to achieve an overall 60-8 match record. Iga clinched 6 titles in 2024 in Australia, Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid, Rome and French Open.
Iga Swiatek will take on the world no.6 Jessica Pegula in the Round Robin. Their actual head to head record is 6-4 for Swiatek.
Swiatek clinched 6 titles in 2024 in Australia, Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid, Rome and French Open.
Swiatek won 23 titles in her career: 13 on hard courts and 10 on clay courts. (See the list of her titles)
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek played each other 12 times. Their actual record is 8-4 for Swiatek. The last time they fought against each other, Aryna Sabalenka won 6-3 6-3 in the semifinal in Cincinnati (Western & Southern Open) on the 18th of August 2024.
Here the video highlights.
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek |
| Embed from Getty Images |
Aryna Sabalenka in 2024
Now the world no.1, Aryna played her last match on the 2nd of November when she overcame world no.7 Qinwen Zheng 6-3 6-4 in the round robin in Riyadh (draw).
At the moment, during this season Aryna achieved a compiled 55-12 win-loss record. The Belarussian has won 4 titles in 2024 at the Australian Open, Cincinnati, U.S. Open and Wuhan. The Belarussian reached the final in Brisbane, Madrid and Rome.
Aryna Sabalenka will square off with the world no.450 Petra Kvitova in the final on Saturday at 6:00 pm on CENTRE COURT. Their current record is 3-2 for Kvitova.
The Belarussian has won 4 titles in 2024 at the Australian Open, Cincinnati, U.S. Open and Wuhan. Aryna was the finalist in Brisbane (Brisbane International), in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) and in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia).
Aryna won 17 titles in her career: 13 on hard courts, 2 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Iga Swiatek in 2024
Ranked no.2, Swiatek played her last match on the 3rd of November when she overcame world no.13 Barbora Krejcikova 4-6 7-5 6-2 in the round robin in Riyadh (draw).
At the moment, during this season Swiatek owns an overall 60-8 match record. Iga clinched 6 titles in 2024 in Australia, Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid, Rome and French Open.
Iga Swiatek will play the world no.6 Jessica Pegula in the Round Robin. Their head to head is 6-4 for Swiatek.
The Pole clinched 6 titles in 2024 in Australia, Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid, Rome and French Open.
The Pole won 23 titles in her career: 13 on hard courts and 10 on clay courts. (See the list of her titles)
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek clashed against each other 12 times. Their current record is 8-4 for Swiatek. The last time they squared off, Aryna Sabalenka won 6-3 6-3 in the semifinal in Cincinnati (Western & Southern Open) on the 18th of August 2024.
Here are the highlights.
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek |
| Embed from Getty Images |