Aryna Sabalenka crowned her brilliant 2023 with number 1

He US Open 2023 became its main protagonist Coco Gauffnew champion this Saturday after losing in the final Aryna Sabalenka. But the Belarusian is certainly the one who takes center stage this Monday, because this is the day where he is rose to first place in the WTA ranking after he secured at Flushing Meadows to overtake Iga Swiatek

The WTA thus accomplished the transition from the Pole’s first reign to the Belarusian’s first. The two have experienced a great rivalry on the circuit in recent months and it promises to expand in the coming months, in a circuit where, where the two are prominently featured side by side. Elena Rybakina at the beginning of the season, Gauff It established itself as another great alternative that became a reality after its fresh first Grand Slam.

Sabalenka reaches the WTA throne with outstanding numbers in 2023. In this he won a Grand Slam (the Australian Open), has been done end in another (the US Open) and became semi-finalists among the remaining two (Roland Garros and Wimbledon). Save up three titlesafter the one in Melbourne, the WTA 1000 in Madrid and the tournament was added at the beginning of the year in Adelaide.

This was one of his strongest parts of the season, as he accumulated thirteen consecutive victories in his titles in Adelaide and the Australian Open and the two victories he signed in Dubai. It shined a great regularity of the game in 2023, which is only his second round in Rome, the round of 16 he signed in the Berlin grass tournament and the round of 16 a few days ago in Canada as setbacks in a year in which he accumulated in addition of those three. trophy three more finals (Indian Wells against Rybakina, Stuttgart against Swiatek and this US Open against Gauff).

Runner-up at the WTA Finals last season, when she lost in the final against Caroline Garcia, Sabalenka has found the perfect balance in her game this season. With his powerful attack, he was able to reduce unforced errors and dramatically improve your second serve, one of the weak points of his game but where he improved his numbers. He has worked on the mental factor to become regular in the fight for tournaments, a situation that gives him promotion to the top of tennis this Monday.

He came to him with his career numbers one Grand Slam and thirteen WTA titles. In addition to three winners this season, with that Melbourne Park title at the helm, Sabalenka, who has no titles in 2022, won another ten between 2018 and 2021. In total, beyond the Australian Open, five WTA 1000 (Wuhan) stand 2018 and 2019, Doha 2020 and Madrid 2021 and 2023), one WTA Elite Trophy (Masters B, won in 2019) and four 500 tournaments (New Haven 2018, Ostrava 2020, Abu Dhabi 2021 and Adelaide 2023 ). The 250 of Shenzhen 2019 and Linz 2020 complete their list of achievements.

Sabalenka becomes twenty nine players in history to rise to number 1 in the world and she is also the second Belarusian to achieve this after Victoria Azarenka. She will try to emulate her compatriot by fighting for the number 1 at the end of the season: Azarenka finished as number 1 in 2012, a milestone that Sabalenka will try to repeat eleven years later.

Pending challenges until the end of the year

Of course, Sabalenka’s main goal until the end of the year is keep the number 1. She is defending the final at the WTA Finals, so she still has a large number of points left to secure. Fifteen players have managed to finish a season as number 1 at least once and Sabalenka wants to become the sixteenth to do so.

With a week already in his locker at the top of the ranking, there are fifteen remaining in 2023, where he has already secured the first. Take the year-end challenge in those sixteen weeks This will allow her to qualify for the all-time top 20 next year, as it was closed by Kim Clijsters with twenty weeks.

Win at WTA Finals This is also the biggest incentive in terms of remaining titles, but there are also other great tournaments pending. In principle, the Guadalajara WTA 1000 next week and Beijing WTA 500 At the beginning of October they will have their next challenges before attacking the search for the ‘Teacher Tournament’.