After her French Open win this year, Iga Swiatek had her fair share of struggles. Though she protected her World No.1 ranking, it took one match against Jelena Ostapenko to fall to the 2nd spot. Aryna Sabalenka, former World No.2, climbed to the World No.1 for the first time in her career. The Belarusian expressed her wish 3 years ago, and now she had it.

Sabalenka’s father, a professional Ice Hockey player, passed away when he was only 43 years old. But she had no time to grieve for her beloved father as she had to play a match in which she expressed what her father always wanted.

Aryna Sabalenka reveals one of the emotional moments of her life

The Australian Open champion was due to play Adelaide International 1 soon after the gut-wrenching loss. But she did not give up; the Belarusian boarded the plane and went as far as she could in the tournament. One resilient decision is all it took for her to stand on the top of the world as her father always wanted her to be.

After the first round, the 25-year-old spoke to the reporters, in which she disclosed the reason behind her playing the match. She said, “It was something unexpected, he was young, he was 43, and I didn’t want to say that, but I think people should know. I’m just trying to fight because my dad wanted me to be No.1. I’m doing it for him so that’s what is helping me to be strong right now.”

Sabalenka encountered Hsieh Su-Wei in her first-round match and defeated her, though she lost the opening set. She extended her journey until the semi-final when she lost to Dayana Yastremska. The Belarusian had singles titles to her name then, but she did not win a major until 2023. She started playing tennis because of her father, and from 2019, Sabalenka only witnessed a rising career graph.

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The Belarusian’s infallible career record after the most heartbreaking loss ever

Sabalenka’s father is why she first held a tennis racket at 7 years old. The duo dreamt of conquering the world together, but only the two-time US Open semi-finalist lived it. The Belarusian was World No.12 when her father tragically passed away. 2 years later, she achieved her career-high ranking of World No.2.

In all the tournaments she played after 2019, Sabalenka rarely exited in the first round. Her rise was consistent and smooth, contrary to her aggressive and dominant on-court play. Sabalenka won the quarter-finals of the Flushing Meadows in straight sets against Daria Kastakina, 1-6, 3-6. She is now two steps away from clinching her maiden US Open title.

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