Aryna Sabalenka is truly the name on everyone’s lips in the tennis world right now! The Belarusian powerhouse is not just racking up titles; she’s making history with every swing of her racket. This latest victory in Wuhan isn’t just another trophy in Sabalenka’s cabinet; it’s a statement—loud and clear—that she’s here to rule the courts. After clinching her fourth title of the season at the Wuhan Open, Sabalenka has firmly outshined Iga Swiatek in their ongoing rivalry for dominance.

The Belarusian sensation clinched a dominant victory in the finals of the Wuhan Open against Qinwen Zheng in three sets, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. With this, she clinched her 3rd consecutive title at the Wuhan Open and has remained undefeated at the venue in all its editions. But besides her sensational win, she has also outshined the Polish star and has clinched the No. 1 spot in the race to the WTA finals.  

As per the WTA Live Race, Sabalenka has exchanged positions with Swiatek and holds the number 1 spot in the list with 9091 points. Swiatek, on the other hand, is around 806 points behind her on the second spot with 8285 points in total. This also increases the opportunity for the Belarusian player to emerge as the World No. 1 by the end of the year, as she is just 79 points behind Swiatek in the live WTA Rankings. While the Pole leads the tally with 9785 points, Sabalenka stands at 9716 points after winning 1000 points from the Wuhan Open, thanks to the long absence of Swiatek from the courts. 

Remember, Swiatek played her last tournament at the US Open this year and missed the entirety of the Asian Swing. A major reason behind her absence was her split with her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, after which the star player has failed to find another coach so far. But why is the WTA live race important for Sabalenka?

Well, the seeds for the WTA Finals are decided based on this Live Race to Riyadh. Sabalenka will enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed which would give her an edge over her opponents. This just means that if the top-four seeds reach the semifinals, Sabalenka will face the No. 4 seed in the final four. That’s to say that the No. 1 seed has the easiest route to the title, at least on paper. Interestingly, Sabalenka had earlier opened up about her desire to become the World No. 1 and is extremely close to her goal. 

Speaking on the WTA Star Podcast after her US Open victory, Sabalenka said, “I’m still hungry, for sure. Another goal for sure is to try to become world No.1 again. But I don’t want to talk about this goal. I’m just trying to keep improving myself and keep getting better every day.” However, the Belarusian star seems to be less bothered about the WTA Rankings, at least for now. 

‘Just keep working hard,’ Aryna Sabalenka clears her focus for the season

Aryna Sabalenka considers her rivalry with Iga Swiatek as a crucial need for women’s tennis. “Having this rivalry with Iga is something big in tennis and something much-needed in women’s tennis,” she said after her first-round victory over Katarina Siniakova at the Wuhan Open. But as she reaches near to close the gap and surpasses Swiatek as the World No.1, she does not wish to focus on the rankings. 

Speaking after her title victory at the Wuhan Open, Sabalenka opened up about the rankings and said, “That’s really tight ranking right now. Really nice to see.” Continuing further, she, however, said her focus is to keep shining her skills and not just the rankings. “I always say of course it’s one of the goals, but I prefer to focus on myself and just keep working hard. We’ll see after the Finals if I was good enough this season to become World No. 1.”

As the WTA Finals reach close, it will be interesting to see if Sabalenka continues her dominance and wins the number one spot before the season ends.