Aryna Sabalenka Rattles Iga Swiatek Fans With Her Controversial Take on Their Hostile Rivalry

Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, and Elena Rybakina have been dominating the WTA Tour for the past few years. They have managed to share six out of the last eight Grand Slam titles among them and the trio is looking for more. But when it comes to the top two spots in women’s singles ranking, it has been a battle between the two over the past 66 weeks. Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have strongly held those two positions and have kept others far away from getting into the frame. But when it comes to analyzing their performances on different surfaces, Sabalenka thinks she has an edge over Swiatek on hard court. But does the Swiatek army agree with this statement?

During the pre-tournament press conference in Rome, Sabalenka said, “Well obviously Iga is much better on clay than me. For example, I would say Elena is better on grass, and I’m maybe a little bit better on hard court.” After hearing this from the world no.2, the fans of the no.1 went completely berserk! One of the fans put up a straightforward question by asking her if she’s really good on hard courts, then why isn’t she at the top spot in the women’s rankings: “If you’re better on HCs then why are you, not #1 as most of the tour is played on that surface?“

Another one highlighted that the Polish tennis star has won eight big titles on the hard court compared to just five by the Belarusian. But if we look at their numbers in Grand Slam tournaments, Iga Swiatek has won a total of four major titles so far. And out of those four, three have come on clay while one on the hard court surfaces. On the other hand, Aryna Sabalenka has won two Grand Slam titles so far. Both of which have come on hard courts. “Iga has 8 big hard court titles to Sabs 5…” said the fan.

Some of them even asked Sabalenka to check the stats. They claimed that Swiatek has a better record on hard courts than clay. They added another stat by saying, “Sabalenka should check the stats. IGA has a better record on Hard Court than clay. Also, Sabalenka’s most defeats against IGA had come on hard courts.“

A few of them even went on to claim that Iga Swiatek would still be the number one even if Sabalenka took away all clay courts from everyone. That’s quite a bold statement! “Iga would be N1 if you took away ALL clay points from everyone,” claimed the fan.

One of the fans asked the tennis world to think about it by pointing out that 80% of the tour is played on hard courts. And Iga Swiatek is 4000 points ahead in the rankings as the world’s number one. As per the WTA Tour official website, Iga Swiatek is currently placed at the number one spot with 10910 points. Whereas, Aryna Sabalenka sits second with 7498 points. “80% of the tour is played on hard courts and Iga is 4000 points ahead in rankings as world number 1. Makes you think,” explained the fan.

Iga Swiatek currently leads the H2H with Aryna Sabalenka by a 7-3 margin. She has a 4-1 lead on the clay courts and 3-2 on the hard courts. Recently, the Polish tennis star defeated the Belarusian at the finals of the Madrid Open. They’re now all set to begin their campaign at the 2024 Italian Open on Friday, May 10. Will we see yet another Top 2 clash in Rome? Well, time will tell. Till then let’s see what the former world number one has to say about this rivalry between Iga and Saba.

Naomi Osaka heaps praise on Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka 

During the same press conference, Aryna Sabalenka went on to add, “At the same time I cannot say that it’s all about the surface. I mean, as the time shows, I can beat them on clay, on hard, on grass. It’s not about the surface, I would say. It’s about honestly in each match couple of key moments where, like, probably she played better.” But the Japanese tennis star wants to remain far away from this debatable topic.

Naomi Osaka said she’s very pleased to watch the rise of women’s tennis with Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka. She feels seeing them perform so well over the last few years is really a great thing for the women’s sport. “Yeah, I mean, I think she’s great for the sport. I also think watching Sabalenka doing so well is super, super fun. I hope that I’m able to play them both one day,” said Osaka hopefully.

Iga Swiatek won the Italian Open title in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. But last year she could only manage to reach the QF. Aryna Sabalenka, on the other hand, was a semifinalist in 2022. She’ll be aiming to clinch her first title here in her sixth appearance at Foro Italico. Who do you think has the edge in this tournament?