“Another goal for sure is to try to become the world no.1 again” – Aryna Sabalenka. This was among her first statements after winning the 2024 US Open. Sabalenka’s hunger and desire to fulfill her final wish for the 2024 season is quite unparalleled at the moment. We’re seeing the flare in her matches at the China Open. Aryna Sabalenka recently defeated America’s Madison Keys by two sets to extend her winning streak to 15. With the help of this incredible run over the last few weeks, Sabalenka is now breathing down the neck of Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles ranking!

If we take a look at the WTA Live Rankings, Iga Swiatek is currently placed in the first spot with 9785 points. On the other hand, Aryna Sabalenka is ranked second in that list with 8716 points. So there is a clear gap of 1069 points at the moment. However, since Iga Swiatek decided to withdraw her name from the China Open citing a personal issue, Aryna Sabalenka has suddenly got a boost in her mission. Swiatek has earned maximum points on hard courts this year (5460), while she got 4195 points from the clay courts and only 130 points from the grass. Since she has not participated in the China Open, Swiatek is all set to drop 1100 points.

This will indeed give a chance to Aryna Sabalenka to overtake the Polish superstar. However, for that to happen, Sabalenka first needs to clinch the title at the China Open. She may face Caroline Busca or Karolina Muchova in the QF. As per the Live WTA Race, Iga Swiatek now has 8285 points, while Aryna Sabalenka has already climbed up to 8091 points. The Belarusian’s consistency has now strongly put her in a position to chase down the no.1 ranking over the final weeks of the season. So fasten your seatbelts to witness this ‘cat-and-mouse’ race!

Last year, Aryna Sabalenka became the world number one for the first time after the US Open. However, she couldn’t enjoy her throne for too long as Iga Swiatek overtook her at the WTA Finals to finish the year as the world number one. This time she has a great chance of taking her revenge on the Polish superstar. Both of these players have taken their tennis to new heights in the last few years. Despite having a fierce rivalry on the courts, they have always respected each other’s achievements in the past. What do Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka think about their rivalry, though?

“Motivates me” – Aryna Sabalenka reacts to her rivalry with Iga Swiatek

The former WTA pro, Andrea Petkovic recently stated that she felt something was always within Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek since their early days. “I already told my coaches that these two will win Slams, win Major titles for sure. You can just feel that there is something else within them,” she said in a recent interview. Iga Swiatek has now already won 5 Grand Slam titles in her career, while Aryna Sabalenka has won 3. Fans have now started to rate this rivalry very highly in the tennis world. So far, they have met each other 12 times and currently, Swiatek leads the H2H scoreline by an 8-4 margin.

What does Iga Swiatek have to say about this rivalry? “For sure when we play against each other, I feel like it’s a challenge. I think it’s also pushing me to become better and better player, so I think we both kind of need each other to grow,” said the current world number one. Sabalenka also said the same about her rivalry with Swiatek. According to the Belarusian, “I think that’s amazing the rivalry we are having with Iga. She definitely motivates me a lot to get better, and I think I improve so many things just because of her.”

So, clearly they have no doubts in admitting both of them help each other in becoming a better player. Just like what we saw in between Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal, Chris Evert-Martina Navratilova, and many more. Can this rivalry ever reach the level of these iconic rivalries in the tennis world? In reply to this question, Swiatek said, “We’ll see about if it’s going to go to history books because honestly, I don’t think either I or Aryna are focusing on that.” She stated that they are now more focused on their own journeys, instead of looking at these stats and numbers. Share your thoughts on this epic rivalry in women’s tennis.