Aryna
Sabalenka will experience a special final at the 2024
Australian Open, as she
has the opportunity to achieve her and her father's significant goal: winning a
pair of Grand Slams by the age of 25. Sabalenka's father passed away in 2019,
and this will be the last chance for the Belarusian to fulfill this dream, as
she will turn 26 by the next Grand Slam – the French Open in May.
During the
2023 season, Sabalenka secured her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open and
featured prominently in the Netflix series "Break Point," where she
shared details about her relationship with her father. She expressed her
frustration as, at 24, she had not yet won a Slam despite maintaining a top-5
ranking for several years.
Sabalenka
had the opportunity in the previous final of the 2023 US Open to claim her
second Grand Slam, but she fell to the 19-year-old local player Coco Gauff, who
secured her first Slam at Flushing Meadows. Interestingly, Sabalenka faced
Gauff in the semifinals of the Australian Open and avenged her previous loss to
reach the final, still at the age of 25.
Final against Qinwen Zheng
Sabalenka's
opponent in the final comes as a surprise, considering the early exits of
players like Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, and Jessica Pegula. The draw opened
up for lower-ranked players, and it is the 12th seed, Chinese player Qinwen
Zheng, who reached the final to challenge Sabalenka.
At 21 years
old, Zheng reached her first Grand Slam final and dreams of achieving glory
against Sabalenka. In the semifinals, she defeated the Ukrainian qualifier
Dayana Yastremska (6-4, 6-4). However, facing Sabalenka in the final will be
her first match of the tournament against a top-50 player.
Their only
previous encounter was in the quarterfinals of the 2023 US Open, with Sabalenka
winning 6-1, 6-4. In that match, the Belarusian was dominant and did not give
her opponent any chances. Nevertheless, Zheng has shown evolution since then
and is poised to put up a fight at the Rod Laver Arena, aiming to create an
upset.
