Sabalenka wins US Open yet she's too focused on 'improving' to care about her ranking

Belarus’ tennis star Aryna Sabalenka has stated that she is not focused on rankings despite her recent success on the court. The 26-year-old is already regarded as one of the best players currently playing in women’s tennis in the singles category along with Poland’s Iga Swiatek.

Sabalenka has gone through a mixed campaign, but in the recent past, she has managed to turn things around and produce some impressive results. She lifted the US Open for the first time on Saturday after beating America’s Jessica Pegula in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 7-5. Before coming to New York, the Minsk-born star lifted the Cincinnati Masters after beating Pegula in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-5.

With those results, Sabalenka has not only managed to consolidate her position in second place in the WTA rankings but has also reduced the gap to the current world number one to just over 2,000 points. Interestingly, Swiatek has more than 2,000 points to defend in the later stages of the season as she won the China Open and the WTA Finals last year.

Sabalenka was recently quoted in a report where she stated that she is not focusing on becoming the world's number one. The three-time Grand Slam winner also stated that her focus has been to play her ‘best’ tennis in every tournament. “I mean, I’m not trying to focus on ranking, to be honest,” she said. “Not like I’m checking where I’m gonna be after the tournament. I’m just trying to focus on myself, and I know that if on each tournament I’m able to play my best tennis and I’ll be able to bring this fighting spirit on each game, I’ll be able to become world No 1 again. So my focus is on myself, on improving myself as a player and as a person. Hopefully one day I’ll see myself on the top of the ranking.”