Big 3 battle brewing – Sabalenka, Rybakina vying for statement win in Beijing

Aryna Sabalenka is playing in her first tournament as the world No 1, and on Saturday in Beijing she’ll look to prove herself worthy when she faces Elena Rybakina for the third time this season.

The last time the pair clashed, Rybakina defeated Sabalenka in the final at Indian Wells for her first win over the Belarusian in five tries, and had this to say after the match, during the on-court award ceremony: “It’s actually the first time it went my way… ”

At which point Sabalenka interrupted to make a quick – and hilarious – reply.

“I will make sure it was the last one,” Sabalenka said as the crowd broke out in laughter.

On Saturday we’ll find out if Sabalenka was serious…

Rybakina vs Sabalenka is the marquee matchup of a loaded quarter-final lineup at the China Open, and all eyes will be on the Belarusian to see if she can maintain her composure against one of the rising forces in the women’s game.

But top-seeded Sabalenka won’t be the only one with pressure on her. Rybakina’s level has slipped since she made her top 5 debut this spring, on the heels of winning the Rome title.

Since then the hard-hitting Kazakh has not won a single title – or even reached a final for that matter.

After losing in the quarter-final at Wimbledon in her title defence, Rybakina struggled with a back issue this summer, losing in the semis at Montreal, in the round of 16 at Cincinnati and the third round at the US Open.

Rybakina was 5-1 in matches against the top 10 after Rome, and since then she has only faced one top 10 opponent. She lost to sixth-ranked Ons Jabeur in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

It will be interesting to see if Rybakina can summon the form that saw her win two1000-level titles (Indian Wells, Rome) and reach two prestigious finals (Australian Open, Miami) in the first half of the season. Against Sabalenka, she will certainly need her best tennis.

It will also be interesting to see if Sabalenka, who enters Saturday’s showdown with a 53-11 record on the season, can produce inspired tennis against a woman that has taken her to three sets in four of their five meetings.

Sabalenka owns the 4-1 head-to-head edge over Rybakina, but this year has marked a new phase in the rivalry, with the pair contesting the year’s first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open in January, then battling for a 1000-title at Indian Wells in March.

WTA Big 3 talk has quieted

The rise of Sabalenka and Rybakina this season had many touting the arrival of a new “Big 3” on the WTA Tour (along with Iga Swiatek), but talk of that has tempered somewhat with the last two Slam titles going to Marketa Vondrousova at Wimbledon, and Coco Gauff at the US Open.

Tomorrow we may gain insight into the status of said Big 3, as we watch Sabalenka and Rybakina compete.

Neither player has won a title since the clay-court season (Sabalenka in Madrid, Rybakina in Rome) but the winner of Saturday’s tussle could be on the way to another big title.

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