"I love seeing her in the draw": Sabalenka regrets Swiatek’s absence in Wuhan, eyes final showdown for World No. 1

Aryna Sabalenka sends message to Iga Swiatek in the middle of the battle for World No. 1. The Polish player withdrew from the Wuhan Open, putting her chances of ending the season at the top of the rankings at risk after Sabalenka's impressive streak of 16 wins in her last 17 matches, which includes titles at the Cincinnati Open and the US Open.

At one point, Swiatek held a lead of over 4,000 points in the rankings, but Sabalenka has managed to close the gap since the end of the clay swing, during which Iga had already won four WTA 1000 titles and the French Open. Since then, the 23-year-old player has a record of ‘only’ 9-3 across Wimbledon, Cincinnati, and the US Open.

The race for the year-end No. 1 ranking is heating up, not only because of the players fighting for qualification but also because the only two players qualified so far are separated by just 70 points. Swiatek’s decision to skip the Asian swing, after changes to her team, has hurt her chances. Her next challenge will be the WTA Finals, where she is defending her title.

Swiatek currently has 8,285 points in the Race, while Sabalenka has 8,211. The Belarusian is in the Round of 16 in Wuhan (the last WTA 1000 of the year), and if she reaches the quarterfinals, she will overtake the Polish player with 8,306 points. To achieve this, she must defeat Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.

However, the 3-time Grand Slam champion expressed regret that her main rival didn’t travel to China. “I mean, I love having this competition, and I love seeing her in the draw,” Sabalenka said.

“Yeah, I love to, like, get to the finals and face her in the finals. It's always great battles. I always enjoy fights against her,” she added. “But, I mean, I hope she’ll figure out the coach situation and she’ll be back in the Finals in her best shape.”

If Sabalenka keeps advancing in Wuhan, she will extend her lead at the top and arrive in a strong position at the WTA Finals. Still, it seems that, like in 2023, the race for World No. 1 will be decided in the final matches in Riyadh.

“Hopefully, we can play against each other there in the Finals, yeah, put it into a fight for World No. 1. That’s ideal,” she added. “I'm trying to focus on myself and make sure that I play my best tennis and make sure I still have this opportunity to become World No. 1 at the end of the year.”