Sabalenka: "I always wanted to dominate the circuit like Serena did"

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No matter what happens in these WTA Finals 2024, no one will take away from Aryna Sabalenka the privilege of finishing the year as the best tennis player on the planet. Understandably, considering she has won two Grand Slams, two WTA 1000 titles, and has shown the most consistency throughout these ten calendar months. Now, the challenge lies in Riyadh, where the Belarusian aims to put the cherry on top of a spectacular year with her first masters crown, but that's a conversation for another time. Ahead of the upcoming Friday semifinals after finishing first in the Purple Group, the player from Minsk speaks to the Arab News portal to explain what it feels like to wake up every morning and see that there's no one better in her field. Pride, of course, but also a lot of responsibility.

"In general, I believe being a leader is difficult, but I think it's a great opportunity to help sports... for instance, to fight for equal prize money between circuits, to show the world this perspective and to demonstrate to countries like the one we're in that women's quality of life can be greatly improved," says the 26-year-old tennis player bluntly. "It's a responsibility, it's a great opportunity to be a voice for women. The truth is, I embrace that responsibility, I enjoy representing women's sports, showing that we are strong and powerful, that we can fight for our rights," states the woman known for her strong character that transcends any media barrier.

"I always wanted to dominate the tour like Serena Williams did, or like Iga (Swiatek) did for so long," she humbly admits, mentioning the two players who have been dominant on the tour recently. "Iga is still in the mix, although this season I have been able to finish as the world No. 1, which is an honor. It's truly inspiring to strive to dominate the tour as they did, although right now, I'm focusing on myself, on improving every day. I'm dedicated to honing all the tools at my disposal to dominate the tour as they did," notes the Belarusian with the drive that has propelled her to surpass herself and take a leap forward in the last season.

A CHALLENGE FOR 2025

There's little to blame Aryna Sabalenka for. For those who may have forgotten, she had to overcome a significant personal hurdle earlier this year with the passing of her ex-partner. It was a dark period, with many comments and little on-court performance, yet even then, she managed to recover and string together victories again. Any blemish in this 2024? The quarterfinal defeat at Roland Garros and her absence at Wimbledon due to injury, which doesn't diminish her titles at the Australian Open and the US Open one bit, confirming once again that there's no player more effective than her on hard courts. However, Aryna has her sights set on completing the Grand Slam in the medium term, hence she dares to emphasize where the goals lie for the upcoming season.

"This season, I felt pretty confident about performing well on natural surfaces until stomach issues halted me at Roland Garros, disrupting my plans," she recalls the loss to Mirra Andreeva on one of those days when her physical condition wasn't on her side. "That moment was mentally very painful; then at Wimbledon, problems resurfaced, this time a shoulder injury. I am confident that I can perform well at those Grand Slams, as I've shown in previous years, so we'll see if I can perform well there in 2025, provided my body allows it. We're doing everything possible to ensure what I went through this season doesn't happen again, but I'm convinced I can do well," concludes Sabalenka, who has become the top competitor to beat within the locker room.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Sabalenka: “Siempre quise dominar el circuito como hizo Serena”