It has been an eventful season for Aryna Sabalenka on many fronts. While she won the Australian Open earlier in the season, Sabalenka’s form dipped soon after and she even struggled with mental health issues. However, she came back strongly and clinched the US Open and the World Number 1 spot from Iga Swiatek. Over the past few years, she has had an intense rivalry with Swiatek and this isn’t done yet. Sabalenka’s good friend, Ons Jabeur, gave insights on what was to come as far as the Swiatek-Sabalenka rivalry was concerned.

While Sabalenka and Swiatek are playing in the WTA Finals, Jabeur is down with a shoulder injury and ended her season early. She was last seen in action at the Canadian Open, where she lost in the opening round to Naomi Osaka. Earlier this week, Jabeur spoke to Arab News at the Kayanee flagship store in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter, where her new collection is being launched.

Speaking about Sabalenka’s recent jump to the World Number 1 spot and her rivalry with Swiatek, Jabeur said, “It’s been amazing watching both fighting for this No. 1 spot. I think at the moment Aryna deserves it the best. She’s such a great friend and a great competitor. It’s nice.”

She concluded her thoughts cheekily: “I hope they’ll keep fighting and get tired so I can take the first spot.” Currently ranked No. 41, she once held the highest-ranking position for any African and Arab tennis player in both WTA and ATP history, reaching a career-high of World No. 2 on June 27, 2022.

Sabalenka and Jabeur’s friendship on and off the court is no secret. The two can often be seen sharing wonderful times together. Additionally, Sabalenka and Jabeur have also practiced together on numerous occasions. “I was in the locker room watching her interview sending kisses and love,” Sabalenka once said while Jabeur was playing her match.

Further, the Belarusian star received a quick reality check at the WTA Finals. She suffered a shocking loss there against Elena Rybakina, following which talked about her motivation.

Aryna Sabalenka admits to continuing learning despite being the World Number 1

Earlier on in the tournament, Iga Swiatek lost against Coco Gauff, which guaranteed Aryna Sabalenka the year-end Number 1 spot. While this came as a major boost for the Belarusian star, Sabalenka also suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Elena Rybakina. Subsequently, she made a candid confession about her motivation to keep going.

Sabalenka said, “Well, honestly, this is something I have to learn how to keep myself motivated and hungry and being 100% on in this kind of matches when you know that you’re already in the semis and the only motivation for you is points and money. But that was tricky. And you see someone up on another side, and especially with such a high-level player who has kind of like nothing to lose, and she was just going for her shots and everything was going in.”

Despite that loss, Sabalenka won her other two group stage matches, which guaranteed her a spot in the last four. She will potentially face either Swiatek or Barbora Krejčíková in the semifinals. Can Sabalenka overcome her shocking defeat and win the WTA Finals crown? Let us know your views in the comments below.