By On Tuesday, Aryna Sabalenka declared her desire to finish the year as the number one player in the world.
Due to unexplained “personal matters,” top-seeded and defending champion Iga Swiatek withdrew from the China Open this week, leaving the world number two as the top seed.
If Sabalenka wins in Beijing, she will have gone a significant step closer to unseating the Pole at the top of the rankings, having just won the US Open.
The Belarusian, who claimed the double Australian Open title at the beginning of the year, stated, “Of course that’s one of my goals, to finish the season at world number one.”
The 26-year-old continued, though, saying, “I’m trying to focus on my game, not on that. There are just three remaining competitions.
“I just want to play the best tennis I can on the court. I’ll assess whether it was sufficient to end the year at the top spot or whether I need to make any further improvements in order to do so after the season.
A year ago, the three-time major champion held the top spot in the global rankings until Swiatek overtook him.
“It means everything to be referred to as the world’s top player. Knowing that all of your hard work and training hours weren’t in vain is a comforting feeling, she remarked.
For the first time since defeating Jessica Pegula in the New York final earlier this month, Sabalenka will be competing. In the opening round, she is a bye.
Pegula will be competing in the renowned 1000 WTA hardcourt event in the Chinese capital alongside Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen of China, four-time major champion Naomi Osaka, and fellow American Coco Gauff.
On Wednesday, the battle gets underway.
Alongside the women’s competition is an ATP 500 event for men.
AFP
