Aryna Sabalenka reveals which rival she is 'not thinking about' following Brisbane triumph

Aryna Sabalenka reveals which rival she is ‘not thinking about’ following Brisbane triumph

Posted by Admin January 5, 2025 Tennis

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Aryna Sabalenka has kicked her 2025 season off in strong form, after lifting her 18th career title at the Brisbane International.

Sabalenka reached the Brisbane final for a second consecutive season, having lost to Elena Rybakina last year.

However, she managed to go one better in 2025 after coming from a set down to beat qualifier Polina Kudermetova, 4-6 6-3 6-2, to win the Brisbane title.

This follows on from the Belarusian’s impressive 2024, having won the Australian Open and US Open titles, resulting in Sabalenka ending the year with a record 94.7% win percentage at Grand Slams.

Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Aryna Sabalenka ‘not thinking’ about Iga Swiatek following Brisbane victory

Sabalenka is now looking ahead to the Australian Open, where she will bid to become the first woman to win three consecutive titles since Martina Hingis in 1999.

The 26-year-old currently holds three Grand Slam titles and was asked in her post-match press conference in Brisbane about whether she was looking to catch rival Iga Swiatek up with five.

“I try to focus on myself,” said Sabalenka. “I’m not thinking about what Iga is doing or how many Grand Slams she has won, but I strive to work hard every day and be better.

“What I would love most in this world is to finish my career and be able to look back feeling proud of what I have achieved.”

The pair have not played one another so far this year, but fans will likely be hoping for more meetings between Sabalenka and Swiatek after their Madrid final was voted WTA Match of the Year in 2024.

Although they have not played a competitive match against one another yet, Sabalenka and Swiatek did practice together in Abu Dhabi.

Aryna Sabalenka extends ranking gap over Iga Swiatek

Sabalenka became World No.1 for the second time towards the end of the 2024 season and ended the year at the top of the WTA rankings for the first time with a 1,121-point lead over nearest rival Swiatek.

After improving her performance in Brisbane from last year, Sabalenka now has an additional 175 ranking points and sits on a total of 9,591.

While Swiatek is set to drop 175 ranking points, following Poland’s United Cup final loss to the United States of America, which included a straight sets defeat to Coco Gauff.

As a result, when the ranking points are updated on Monday January 6, Sabalenka will sit 1,471 ranking points ahead of Swiatek.

This gap is likely to be tightened in coming weeks, with Sabalenka defending 2,000 points at the Australian Open, while Swiatek has just 130 points dropping off from last year.