The world number one confesses the importance of the top spot in the Ranking: “Being called the best player in the world means a lot”.
Aryna Sabalenka, world number two, lands at the ATP Beijing 2024 with a hunger for victories. The Belarusian player comes from winning the US Open 2024, and although she has taken a few days off, she seems rejuvenated for the Asian tour, where there is plenty of room for improvement. During the Media Day, Aryna talks about how she celebrated her recent success, as well as commenting on the significance of the ranking for her.
Have you had time to process your victory at the US Open?
“I think I still need some more time to realize what happened. I will look back once the season ends; right now, I want to continue without thinking about it. I had about four or five days off, enough to celebrate, have fun, recharge, and start fresh. I had good preparation for the Asian tour. I would take more rest, but I couldn’t,” Aryna confesses at a press conference.
How important is being number one?
“Ending the year as the world number one is one of my goals, but I try not to focus on that but on my tennis. There are only three tournaments left, and I want to bring out my best game on the court. After the season, I’ll see if that’s enough to finish the year as the world number one or what I need to improve to achieve it. Being called the best player in the world means a lot. Throughout my life, I have worked so hard to reach the Top 100, then Top 50, Top 10, and now the Top 2. It’s good to know that you haven’t wasted time with all those hours of training,” explains the Belarusian.
“There are major tournaments on the Asian tour. It is also important to perform well leading up to the WTA Finals, to win some matches before that event. There is a gap of three weeks, so if you don’t make it to the final stages, there is a lot of time in between, which is negative for the last tournament of the season, where all matches are of high intensity.”
This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Sabalenka: “Terminar el año como número uno del mundo es uno de mis objetivos”
