Sabalenka cements place as most consistent Grand Slam performer
After winning her second Grand Slam title, the Belarusian will have her sights set on adding to her tally and regaining the No 1 ranking
Aryna Sabalenka at the 2024 Australian Open (Imago/Panoramic)
At the beginning of the Australian Open, all the talk was about the returning mothers. How would Caroline Wozniacki, Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber perform? Could any of them go on to win another slam?
Two weeks later, long after each of them were sent packing, it is Aryna Sabalenka who leaves with the title once more, the Belarusian storming to victory without losing a set, having finished things off with her 6-3, 6-2 win over China’s first-time finalist, Zheng Qinwen, in the final.
The victory is validation of her triumph here 12 months ago, a signal to the rest of the women’s field that she means business again this year.
At 25, Sabalenka is in the form of her life. The winner here 12 months ago, she’s now made six straight semi-finals at majors and, while Iga Swiatek retains her place as the world No 1 after this event, there is no question that Sabalenka has become the most consistent Grand Slam performer around.
Consistency was always the problem for Sabalenka, who has held the ability to blow opponents off the court since the moment she turned professional. By working hard on her temperament, not letting things get to her on the court when events are not going her way, she has become a supreme competitor, one who is unlikely to beat herself (whatever she said in New York).
She has done it with pure hard work. Though she has worked with a psychologist on and off over the years, when her serve was letting her down at the start of 2022 she turned to coach Anton Dubrov, who’s still part of her team, to help her fix her technique. It was perhaps the best decision she’s made in her career and her serve, now, is the cornerstone of her game.
She finishes the Australian Open tied first for points won on first serve, while her returns, blistering and accurate, can knock her opponents off their stride, as happened in the final when Zheng was constantly under pressure whenever she missed her first serve.
With a second slam in the bag, Sabalenka must now be considered a strong favourite to add to her tally in the rest of this year. A semi-finalist at both Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, she has a game equipped for all surfaces and now that her mind is in the right place, anything is possible.
The next big goal, though, is likely to be regaining the No 1 ranking. Sabalenka spent eight weeks on top of the rankings in 2023 before Swiatek knocked her off again and there’s no doubt that she would love to restore her place as No 1.
The Pole still has an 865-point lead, however, and so it may be a while yet before Sabalenka has a genuine chance to overtake her, especially as Swiatek did not play in Miami last year. But the way she’s played here suggests the pair will be nip and tuck all the way to Paris.
What we also have is a genuine big four, all of a sudden, at the top of the women’s game, with Swiatek, Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina all showing consistent performances in the slams. Jessica Pegula actually leapfrogs Rybakina on Monday but the Kazakh has shown she has the quality to get back there soon.
But for Sabalenka, the pressure to prove last year’s triumph was not a one-off is gone, which could spell trouble for her rivals in the months to come.
