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Aryna Sabalenka reveals her next big goal

Irishu
Aryna Sabalenka reveals her next big goal

US Open and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka He wants to keep alive the moment of extraordinary form that brought him back-to-back victories at the Cincinnati Open and the New York Slam: the Belarusian this week China Openwill try to achieve his next goal: Becoming WTA No. 1 at the end of the season.

After taking a few days off, Aryna will be able to continue her career by qualifying for the WTA Finals. Iga SwiatekSabalenka, who will not be participating in the Beijing tournament, will then continue her journey in Shanghai, where she will try to dethrone the Polish player in women’s tennis by the end of the year.

“I think I need some time to process what happened in New York. I’ll be back after the season, I want to continue without thinking about it now. I rested for about four or five days, it was enough to celebrate, enjoy, recharge and start again. I prepared well for the Asia Tour. I would have liked to rest more but I couldn’t.

One of my goals is to finish the year as world number 1“But I try not to focus on that, I focus on tennis instead. There are only three tournaments left, I want to be at my best on the court. After the season, I will see if it is enough to finish the year as world No. 1 or what I need to do to become world No. 1 in the future. It means a lot to be considered the best player in the world. It is nice to know that all those hours of practice are not wasted time,” he said at the China Open media day.

Sabalenka won her third Major title in New York. After a double title at the Australian Open (2023 and 2024), the Belarusian now adds the New York Slam to her career collection.

A few weeks ago, after defeating Jessica Pegula in the Flushing Meadows final, she analyzed: “I can’t speak right now, it’s hard to express myself. Tonight, I thought about how close I was to the US Open title so many times in the past, it was always my dream and finally winning this beautiful tournament, finally getting the trophy in my hands. It means a lot to me,” she said, turning to her opponent: “Jess, you’re playing great tennis, losing in a final is hard to stomach. I know something about that too, but I’m sure you’ll play in other Slam finals.”

Sabalenka won 7-5 7-5 but found herself trailing 3-5 after leading 4-0 in the second set and coming back to 3-0: “I was a little bit afraid that things could turn around in the second set.”

The reference is to last year’s final, which Sabalenka lost to Coco Gauff after winning the first set.

“This title has a special meaning for me, these are tears of joy, not like last year. I remember all the defeats in the past, it is not easy but you must always believe in your dreams, if you sacrifice everything for a dream you will achieve it one day, you work hard but I am very proud of myself and my team. Lokumun, if you were not here I would not exist either, I do not say it often but it is the right time to tell you”, he explained.

And finally, addressing the New York crowd who clearly supported Pegula, she said: “I loved the cheers and the support, I’m sorry about Jessica and I understand but thank you for the support over these two incredible weeks. New York is an amazing place, I love playing here.”