“Because you’re number one, everyone plays against you like they have nothing to lose. They can play the best game they can do,” Aryna Sabalenka said, highlighting the unseen side of being the world no.1. The Belarusian WTA star utilized the Asian swing to replace Iga Swiatek as the world no. 1. Though she couldn’t win the Finals, sh ended the season on a massive note. While she is currently out to decompress, the tennis world has already started calculating the possibilities of her 2025 season.

Tennis experts Jason Goodall, Paul Annacone, and Steve Weissman gathered on the TC Live Podcast to make predictions for the 2025 season. Unsurprisingly, Aryna Sabalenka was at the heart of their discussion. Impressed by her incredible form, former British tennis pro – Jason Goodall made a bold statement about her chances in the upcoming season. “You can’t bet against Sabalenka. She’s been so consistent at the majors, not only this year, but last year as well. So yeah, you can’t bet against her. And of course, she’s won it last two years as well. So smart money is on Sabalenka,” he said.

This confidence was fueled by Sabalenka’s 2024 season which was nothing short of spectacular. She kicked off the year with an impressive run to the final of the Brisbane International where she unfortunately fell short against Elena Rybakina. However, the Tiger managed to rise back up once again. She stormed through the Australian Open clinching her second consecutive title in Melbourne without dropping a set.

Her year only got even better when she bagged an enormous win at the US Open. She took down Jessica Pegula in a thrilling final to claim her third Grand Slam trophy. Now, after a tiring season, Sabalenka is savoring some well-deserved downtime. She recently shared glimpses of a cozy lunch outing with her boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis, and his brother Pedro Frangulis. The trio enjoyed a meal at Milo’s Greek Restaurant in Miami Beach. Fans loved seeing this personal side of Sabalenka as she offered a sneak peek into her life off the court.

Circling back to her performamce, some might be thinking Sabalenka must be content with herself and would be continuing in the same manner. But that’s not true. Sabalenka has got huge plans, and it seems she has found her model in one of the GOATs of the sport.

Aryna Sabalenka aims to resemble the tennis great Serena Williams

Aryna Sabalenka’s 2024 season has given her ambitious dreams of ruling women’s tennis just like Serena Williams once did. The Belarusian powerhouse swept both hardcourt Grand Slams this year capturing the Australian Open in January and the US Open in September. Talking about this amazing journey, Sabalenka shared her aspiration to follow in the footsteps of tennis icons who once defined an era of greatness.

“I always wanted to dominate the tour like Serena did, like Iga was able to do for so long,” Sabalenka said in an interview with Arab News ahead of the WTA Finals. “It’s really inspiring … but I’m trying to focus on myself, on improving myself, to make sure that I have all of the tools to dominate the tour as they did.” This level of self-awareness and determination has become a defining feature of her game. Over the past two years, Sabalenka has evolved from a player prone to emotional outbursts into a composed competitor.

Her statistics make her intent to dominate clear. Sabalenka has reached the semifinals or better in nine of her last 12 Grand Slam appearances. This consistency in major tournaments can be compared with that of Serena’s peak years, where Williams reached 10 semifinals between 2014 and 2017 and captured six Grand Slam titles. As she continues to move ahead with bigger dreams, it still remains to be seen what the upcoming season holds for her.