Aryna Sabalenka is back to being the world No. 1 and she isn't hiding that she wants to avoid spending only a couple of weeks there like in her first stint.
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On Monday, the WTA announced that there was a change at the top and that Iga Swiatek was no longer the top-ranked player in the world. Since the Pole was 69 ranking points ahead of the Belarusian and they didn't play any tournaments last week nor had points to defend, the change left some baffled.
However, the explanation soon came. Per rules, top players are mandated to play at least six WTA 500 tournaments during the year. Since this week's tournament in Tokyo is the last from that category, the WTA already started applying point penalty on those who haven't and won't meet the requirement.
Both Sabalenka (played four WTA 500 tournaments) and Swiatek (played two events from that category) faced penalty, the Belarusian lost a total of seven points while the Pole dropped 120. Now, the three-time champion has the world No. 1 position with a 41-point gap.
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After officially becoming the world No. 1 for the first time on September 11th, 2023, the 26-year-old held the spot for just eight weeks as the Polish tennis star reclaimed it in the last week of the season.
"N1. Lets see for how long this time," Sabalenka wrote on X following the ranking change.
Do you remember what Swiatek confessed after finishing 2023 as the No. 1?
After having a disappointing North American hard-court swing in 2023, it wasn't a secret that the Pole's confidence was shaken. On the other side, Sabalenka was enjoying the season of her life. In those moments, the Belarusian finishing as the Year-End No. 1 looked like a safe bet.
But then, Swiatek managed to win the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing - go 5/5 en route to winning the WTA Finals - and just barely reclaim the top spot. At the season-ending tournament that took place in Cancun last year, the 23-year-old also defeated Sabalenka in the semifinal.
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Later when addressing beating out the Belarusian for the Year-End No. 1 spot, the five-time Grand Slam champion admitted that her biggest rival "deserved" to finish at the top spot but it just happened that she was able to pull off what she did.
She deserved it. She had a great season. She won a Grand Slam, was in the final of another Grand Slam and in two semi-finals, so it was an amazing season. I just preferred to focus on other things, because the pressure related to the No 1 spot was a bit overwhelming in the middle of the season. For this reason, I didnt play very freely until the US Open, and then I knew that I just had to change this attitude and approach the next tournaments differently, just be a different player who didnt focus on all that things although I always try to do it, but it doesnt always work out," Swiatek told Eurosport Poland in late 2023.
What Sabalenka had to say to Swiatek in Wuhan?
While bidding to secure the Wuhan title and add 1,000 ranking points to her name - the tournament where the Pole didn't play - the 26-year-old insisted that she was sorry not to have her biggest rival competing.
"I mean, I love having this competition and I love seeing her in the draw. Yeah, I love to, like, get to the finals and face her in the finals. It's always great battles. I always enjoy fights against her. But, I mean, I hope she'll figure out the coach situation and she'll be back in the Finals in her best shape. Hopefully we can play against each other there in the Finals, yeah, put it into a fight for world No. 1. That's ideally. I'm trying to focus on myself and make sure that I play my best tennis and make sure I still have this opportunity to become world No. 1 at the end of the year," Sabalenka explained.
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After beating Zheng Qinwen for the Wuhan title, this year's Australian Open and US Open champion sounded like she was ready to battle it out with the Pole at the WTA Finals. That indicates she didn't expect to reach the top spot at least not until the WTA Finals.
"Yeah, that's really tight ranking right now. Really nice to see. I always say of course it's one of the goals, but I prefer to focus on myself and just keep working hard. We'll see after the Finals if I was good enough this season to become world No. 1," the 26-year-old said.
Now, Sabalenka will be looking to do well at the WTA Finals in Riyadh and guarantee herself the top finish to 2024.
