Aryna Sabalenka insists she is focusing on her game and not the battle for year-end No.1 ahead of her return to competition later this week.
The world No.2 returns to action at the China Open where she will be the top seed in the draw after Iga Swiatek withdrew from the event due to personal reasons. Sabalenka hasn’t played since defeating Emma Navarro to win her maiden US Open title earlier this month. She is currently on a 12-match winning streak and the only player to have taken a set off her during this period was Ekaterina Alexandrova in Cincinnati.
Due to the absence of defending champion Swiatek in Beijing, the Belarussian has a golden opportunity to close in on the year-end No.1 position. She reached the quarter-finals of the WTA 500 event 12 months ago.
“That’s one of my goals, to finish the season at world No.1,” Sabalenka told reporters on Tuesday.
“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 world No. 1 or have to improve something else to get to world No. 1.”
Sabalenka has already held the top spot for eight weeks so far in her career which was last year between September 11th and November 5th. She has been continuously ranked inside the world’s top five since November 2022.
“To be called the best player in the world, that’s really means a lot. My whole life, I’ve been working so hard to get to the top hundred, then the top 50, the top 10, get into the top two. If one day I’ll be world No. 1, to be called the best player in the world, that means everything.” She said.
“It’s good to know that you’ve been doing the right thing, all of that, hours of training, wasn’t a waste of time.”
It isn’t just the personal gratification of being the best in the world, Sabalenka points out the impact such a role has on others.
“I think as the best player in the world, you inspire the younger generation. For me, that’s always been the main goal. That would be really, really cool.” She concluded.
Sabalenka has a bye in the first round of the China Open and will begin her campaign against either a qualifier or a lucky loser. In her section of the draw, she is projected to play Lulu Sun in the third round followed by Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia.
The women’s champion at this year’s China Open will earn $585,000 in prize money.
