Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will be the new world number one on September 11, following the conclusion of the 2023 United States Open on Saturday. When the final major of the tennis season started, Sabalenka had the chance to be number one in the world, if she had the same result or better as the current world number one, Iga Swiatek of Poland.
On Sunday evening, in the fourth round of the 2023 United States Open, Swiatek came up extremely flat in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 loss to world number 20 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia. Ostapenko had seven aces compared to three for Swiatek, and had 31 winners compared to 18 for Swiatek. This was a battle of French Open champions. Ostapenko won in 2017 and Swiatek won in 2020, 2022, and 2023. Ostapenko has now beaten Swiatek four times in four matches her career. Ostapenko also clobbered Swiatek 6-0, 6-2 in the first round of Birmingham in 2019, 6-4, 6-3 in the fourth round of Indian Wells in 2021, and 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 in the third round of Dubai in 2022.
Sabalenka meanwhile has not been tested whatsoever at Flushing Meadows over the first week. She beat Maryna Zanevska of Belgium, 6-3, 6-2 in round one, Jodie Anna Burrage of Great Britain 6-3, 6-2 in round two, and Clara Burel of France, 6-1, 6-1 in round three.
In three matches so far, Sabalenka has been on the court for only three hours and 32 minutes. The most significant statistic to date are winners. Sabalenka has 77 winners, while her opponents only had 22.
Sabalenka should be tested in the fourth round on Monday. She faces world number 13 and 2022 French Open semifinalist Daria Kasatkina of Russia. In 2023, Sabalenka has won three WTA events in 2023. She won the Adelaide International, Australian Open, and Madrid Open.
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