At the beginning of this year, while she was still just one player in a field of challengers, Aryna Sabalenka made her primary goal for the season clear. The Belarusian rarely does things by half measures and so she did not merely want to win her first grand slam tournament, but she embraced the far greater challenge of trying to close the gap on Iga Swiatek and overtake her as the world No 1.
Finally, she has secured that ultimate goal. But the work does not stop. With the No 1 ranking from next week secured, Sabalenka continued to march through the US Open draw as she overpowered Zheng Qinwen of China 6-1, 6-4 to return to the semi-finals for the third consecutive year. “I’m super-proud of myself and my team that we have been able to adjust to different conditions, different courts,” she said. “We were able to bring this consistency in my game.”
Having struggled earlier in her career with a significant mental block in the major tournaments, Sabalenka has become the most reliable grand slam performer in the sport with remarkable consistency at the biggest events. The 25‑year‑old has now reached the semi-finals of five consecutive grand slams, and is now the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach the semi-finals of all four grand slam tournaments in a year.
Her opponent on another searing, humid day, Zheng, is one of the most talented young players in the game with all of the ingredients to be a top player. The 20-year-old is blessed with an excellent first serve, one of the heaviest forehands in the game and she is a strong, quick athlete.
Zheng had arrived in her long-awaited first grand slam quarter-final by defeating Ons Jabeur in straight sets. Afterwards, she poetically paid tribute to the enduring influence of Li Na, Asia’s first grand slam champion, who directly influenced her. “She put a dream seed in my heart that I want to become like that,” said Zheng.
Yet against the immense power, weight of shot and growing court intelligence that Sabalenka plays with these days, even Zheng looked quite underpowered. From the beginning, Sabalenka forced her opponent on to the back foot with her immense depth and weight of shot as she continually stepped inside the court. The Belarusian served so brilliantly, losing just nine return points in the entire match, that by the second set Zheng felt compelled to return serve from far back by the line judges, a tactic more often seen on the tour. It did little to stop Sabalenka from closing out another great performance without issue.
This has been an incredible season for Sabalenka, who clinched her first grand slam at the Australian Open. Thanks to Swiatek’s supremacy, the level of consistency required to reach No 1 is much higher than at any point since Serena Williams’ last stint at the top six years ago yet Sabalenka has proven herself equal to it.
Throughout this period, her improvements have been dramatic. Where she was once emotional, rash and thoughtless on the court, Sabalenka has moulded herself into a calm and thoughtful player capable of harnessing her extreme power with high percentage, sustainable tennis that she has replicated all year.
after newsletter promotion
Yet this year has also, at times, been crushing. For all of her success, she could have achieved even more. She held match point and a 5-2 third-set lead against Karolina Muchova in their French Open semi-final before completely crumbling. Then, in the semi-finals of Wimbledon, she led Jabeur 7-6 (5), 4-2 before losing four games in a row, and eventually the match.
“I just have a really strong belief that all those tough matches that I lost will help me in the future in tough matches, tough battles,” she said. “I’m just learning and I’m just getting more experience and getting stronger. It’s been tough. Yeah, it’s been really tough. But yeah, I just had a couple days off and get back to practicing and getting back to getting stronger.”
It has been clear that the pressure of the No 1 ranking, which was on the line at both tournaments, weighed heavily on her in those matches and her Australian Open triumph this year remains the only time she has won a grand slam semi-final. Thus, one of the most important questions in the final days of the US Open will be whether Sabalenka, having reached her ultimate goal, will be able to play with a level of freedom that will only make her more dangerous.