Chris Evert has praised Aryna Sabalenka on her new place at the top of the WTA Ranking as the World No. 1 posed with the former's namesake trophy.

Sabalenka achieved a huge sporting goal during the US Open when she overtook Iga Swiatek as the highest-ranked WTA player. The Belarusian had just missed out on dethroning the Polish player, who was No. 1 for the tenth-longest amount of time in history at 75 weeks, at Wimbledon back in July.

However, the dream became reality for Sabalenka this time around after she made it to the final of the New York major while Swiatek was defeated by Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round. This makes her the 29th player to hold the top spot and the eighth to have been No. 1 in both singles and doubles.

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Evert congratulates Sabalenka on milestone 

As a result of reaching the pinnacle of the rankings list, Sabalenka was awarded the Chris Evert trophy, which is given to every WTA World No. 1 player. The trophy was named after the tennis legend who was No. 1 for 260 weeks and who also has 18 Grand Slam titles to her name.

The 68-year-old reacted to the post on X, formerly known as Twitter, praising Sabalenka and congratulating her on the incredible achievement.

"Congratulations @SabalenkaA What a great and solid 12 months you’ve had! Well deserved…," she wrote, followed by several emojis.

The 25-year-old won her first major title in singles at the Australian Open earlier this year, ousting Elena Rybakina in the final 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

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Fast forward to September, and Sabalenka just missed out on a second Grand Slam victory after she made it to the final of the US Open for the first time in her career. Although she won the first set 2-6, her opponent Coco Gauff fought back and won the match 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Sabalenka was first ranked as No. 1 in doubles in February 2021. Prior to this, she and her partner Elise Mertens won the 2019 women's doubles title at Flushing Meadows, before going on to win the 2021 Australian Open title together.

Chris Evert

@ChrissieEvert

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Congratulations @SabalenkaA What a great and solid 12 months you’ve had! Well deserved…👍💪💃

wta

@WTA

The 29th woman in history to lift the Chris Evert Trophy 🏆 @SabalenkaA begins her reign as WTA World No.1 in singles!

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