Former world number two Conchita Martinez believes that Belarus’
Aryna Sabalenka has deservedly become the world number one. The 26-year-old has
been battling with Poland’s
Iga Swiatek to claim the top spot in the WTA
rankings.
Sabalenka recently became the world number one after her
closest rival decided to not play any events after the US Open. She finished
the year as the best-ranked player in women’s tennis as well despite not
winning the WTA Finals which was recently organised in Riyadh. Her journey
ended in the semifinal where she lost to world number three and eventual winner
America’s Coco Gauff in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-3.
Former world number two Martinez has been recently quoted in
a report by Tennis 365 where she talked about the rivalry between Sabalenka and
Swiatek. The one-time Grand Slam winner was of the opinion that the Minsk-born
star has deservedly became the world number one as she has been more consistent
with her performances in 2024.
“Right now, it’s clear that they are the dominant players,” she
said. “Iga was very dominant by a lot of points for a while, even though Aryna
was very close. There are a lot of great players out there that can do very
well. It depends on so many things but Iga was dominating, and I really liked
her consistency. I really like how Aryna has gotten so much better in many
aspects of her game, fixing her serve, also her forehand is very powerful. She’s
been playing finals, winning tournaments, so she probably deserves to be there,
because Iga didn’t play for a couple of months.”
Sabalenka had a fabulous year, lifting two Grand Slam titles
for the first time in a year. She first lifted the Australian Open after
beating China’s Qinwen Zheng in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3,
6-2. She then lifted the US Open title after beating America’s Jessica Pegula
in the final in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 7-5.