“She has every opportunity to win the Calendar Slam” - Elusive achievement on the cards for World No.1 Sabalenka after excruciating disappointments in 2025

World number one Aryna Sabalenka has been touted by Nadia Petrova to complete a Calendar Slam after learning from the heartbreaks of some of the Grand Slam campaigns she endured in 2025.

The Belarusian has been a regular in the business end of Grand Slams in recent times. She has made it at least to the semi-finals in all but one major event in the last 12 tournaments she has participated in. It shows off the remarkable consistency she possesses in the big competitions and is why she has been world number one for so long.

Sabalenka has four Grand Slams to her name, which questionably should be more. She has been a forced to be reckoned with on hard courts. This bodes well for the Australian Open and US Open, places where she has enjoyed a lot of success. She has won two titles in Melbourne in 2023 and 2024, and another brace of triumphs at Flushing Meadows in 2024 and 2025. With the Australian Open coming up, she is raring to go to get her fifth on the board.

The coveted Calendar Slam is very elusive in the sport. The last one came back in 1988 when Steffi Graf completed the incredible feat. She very nearly almost did it the next year but lost in the French Open final in three sets to lose her streak.

There have been questions on who will be the next player to win this, with Petrova confident in Sabalenka in doing it. The former world number three has made two major semi-finals along with six quarter-finals. She has had a lot of experience on court, playing against some of the greats.

“She has every opportunity to win the Calendar Slam,” Petrova told Championat. “She’s been very confident this season. Yes, there were moments where she stumbled, you could say, right at the finish line. But she’ll learn from them, become more experienced, stronger."

While she suffered a whole host of disappointments this year, Petrova believes this will make her stronger. “Perhaps she’ll be more relaxed about different situations on the court, less stressed out, so that these emotions don’t get in the way," she said. "She’s certainly gained tremendous confidence this season. I think Aryna will start next year with that confidence as well.”

It was an incredible achievement to regain the US Open title, but that turned out to be a huge relief for Sabalenka after what was a frustrating season. The 27-year-old began by looking like she was going to defend her Australian Open title and make it three on the bounce. However, she was stunned in the final by an inform Madison Keys who was imperious in snatching the title away from her.

She followed this by making it to a maiden French Open final, getting a massive win over the dominant force in Paris Iga Swiatek in three sets after winning the last one 6-0. She took a narrow lead on the final but was pegged back by a brilliant Coco Gauff who won her second Grand Slam. It was another golden opportunity missed by Sabalenka who was starting to get frustrated. This would be compounded with a semi-final defeat to Amanda Anisimvoa at Wimbledon after many touted her to go on and win the event.

Finally, she was on the top of the podium at the US Open where she eventually won her fourth and most recent Grand Slam title. She is targeting a fifth in the upcoming Australian Open. Sabalenka's preparation will first involve the controversial Battle of the Sexes against Nick Kyrgios on December 28. She will then traverse to Australia to compete in a very competitive Brisbane International from January 5-11 before the first major of the year takes place from January 18 - February 1.