US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka chases year-end No. 1 ranking
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Aryna Sabalenka celebrating after winning the US Open earlier in September. She is the top seed at the China Open.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIJING – Aryna Sabalenka said on Sept 24 that she wants to cap a stellar year by returning to the top of the world rankings.
The world No. 2 is the top seed at the China Open this week following the withdrawal of top-ranked Iga Swiatek, the defending champion, because of undisclosed “personal matters”.
Fresh from winning the US Open, Sabalenka can take a large step towards overhauling the Pole at the top of the rankings with victory in Beijing.
“Of course that’s one of my goals, to finish the season at world No. 1,” said the Belarusian, who won the Australian Open at the start of the year for a second time.
But the 26-year-old added: “I’m not trying to focus on that, I’m trying to focus on my game. There are only three tournaments left.
“I’m just trying to bring my best tennis on court. After the season, I’ll see if it was enough to finish the year at No. 1 or have to improve something else to get to No. 1.”
The three-time Grand Slam champion first became world No. 1 a year ago, before being usurped by Polish star Swiatek.
“To be called the best player in the world, that means everything. It’s good to know that you’ve been doing the right thing and all of that hours of training wasn’t a waste of time,” Sabalenka added.
She will be playing for the first time since beating Jessica Pegula in the final in New York earlier in September. She has a bye in the first round.
Pegula will also feature at the prestigious WTA 1000 hard-court event in the Chinese capital starting from Sept 25, along with fellow American Coco Gauff, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan and China’s Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.
Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu, however, will not be present as she became the latest high-profile player to withdraw after the Briton said she was skipping the tournament because of a foot injury.
The 21-year-old has struggled with injuries since capturing the US Open title in 2021 and spent most of last season recovering from ankle and wrist surgeries.
Raducanu, who has since climbed to 54th in the world, suffered her latest setback in the Korea Open quarter-finals on Sept 21 while playing Daria Kasatkina.
“I sprained some ligaments in my foot which unfortunately need some more time to heal,” she said.
“It means I can’t play in Beijing, but I hope to be back competing as soon as I can.”
She joins Swiatek, former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, and three-time Grand Slam runner-up Ons Jabeur on the sidelines.
The men’s ATP 500 tournament in Beijing also lost one of its top players when organisers said world No. 2 Alexander Zverev had pulled out due to pneumonia.
The 27-year-old helped Team Europe complete a 13-11 victory over Team World at the Laver Cup at the weekend, but was absent from the German squad announced on Sept 23 for the Davis Cup Finals in November.
Spain named 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in their Davis Cup team, while Italian world No. 1 Jannik Sinner will also compete in the final eight in Malaga.
Nadal, 38, pulled out of the US Open and Laver Cup and has taken part in only one of the last seven Grand Slams because of injury and fitness struggles.
French Open and Wimbledon winner Alcaraz will be Spain’s key figure as they bid to win the competition dubbed the World Cup of tennis for the first time since 2019, starting with a clash against the Netherlands.
US Open and Australian Open champion Sinner is part of Italy’s squad for the Finals, which start on Nov 19. AFP, REUTERS
