‘Rybakina Is the Real Rival’ – Aryna Sabalenka Catches Unexpected Strays for Her Damaging Record Against Iga Swiatek

Who’s gonna say now that women’s tennis is boring when we have a rivalry between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka? But is it the biggest rivalry in the tennis world right now? Well, different minds have different opinions, and currently, the tennis world is a bit divided on this. Some of the fans claim that this rivalry is not real as Iga Swiatek has a comprehensive lead over Aryna Sabalenka in the H2H.

Currently, Iga Swiatek has a lead of 8-3 in their head-to-head scoreline. The 22-year-old Polish tennis star has won a total of 21 titles in her career, whereas the 26-year-old Belarusian has won just 14 titles. However, Iga Swiatek has a career record of 319-70, but Aryna Sabalenka has a record of 385-181. Moreover, Swiatek has clinched four Grand Slam titles in her career including three at the French Open itself. Whereas, Sabalenka has managed to win two major titles so far and both of them came at the AO. They have now met each other in five career finals including the Madrid and Rome faceoff in 2024.

Their rivalry began at the WTA Finals in 2021 and it’s still going strong. In that match, Sabalenka defeated 19-year-old Iga Swiatek in a three-set thriller. But then Swiatek took her revenge by winning their next four meetings. They recently created a new record for being the only players with the most number of consecutive weeks (68) as the WTA Top 2. But still, some of the fans are calling it the “Most boring rivalry.“

Recently, Wimbledon‘s official Instagram page put up a post on this epic rivalry and after seeing all these stats, fans have now come out in numbers to reflect their opinions. One of the fans said, “How is 8-3 the greatest rivalry. Lmao. Rybakina has better rivalry with Iga.” Well, Elena Rybakina currently leads the H2H with a 4-2 margin against the world number one.

All these three tennis stars have now taken the tennis world by storm. As per several reports, fans are now getting more involved with the WTA than the ATP. So these rivalries play a crucial role in carrying forward the women’s sport. But who is the real rival of Iga Swiatek? “Rybakina Is the real and only rival,” said the other fan.

Iga Swiatek may be leading the H2H at the moment. But a change in approach paid off for Aryna Sabalenka in September last year. She halted Swiatek’s run of 75 consecutive weeks as world number one when she rose to the top of the women’s singles ranking for the first time. Sabalenka has time and again proven her mettle on the bigger stages of the games, but still, some fans are in complete denial of this rivalry. “8-3 What rivalry???“

Both the tennis stars have huge respect for each other and they have often reflected it publicly through their speeches. However, some fans found this comparison between the two WTA stars to be nothing but a big joke! “How is this a rivalry,” wrote the other with a few ‘laughing’ emojis. 

We have heard what the fans have to say about this epic rivalry. But what do Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek think about their rivalries in the tennis world? Here’s what they had said about each other recently.

“I’m gonna get you there” – Aryna Sabalenka hopes to topple Iga Swiatek at the Roland Garros

After the recent defeat at the 2024 Italian Open finals, Aryna Sabalenka reflected on her wish to face Iga Swiatek again in the 2024 French Open finals. She said, “Congrats on an incredible two weeks in Rome, I hope we make it to the final at Roland Garros, and I’m gonna get you there!“

Iga Swiatek also discussed her rivalry with the Belarusian after her recent title triumph at Rome. She said Aryna Sabalenka is a “great player” and she added how she has to always be on her toes whenever she faces her. “Aryna [Sabalenka] is a great player and you can’t take anything for granted. So even when you’re leading 6-2, 5-3, you need to really be intense and not let any point go away,” Iga Swiatek. Share your thoughts on this rivalry in the comment box.