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Aryna Sabalenka’s Wuhan Open victory has brought her within 69 points of dislodging Iga Swiatek from the World No. 1 spot. The Belarusian now has 9,716 points, just behind the Pole’s 9,785.
Sabalenka rose to the World No. 1 ranking after reaching the US Open final last year, but Swiatek recaptured the position soon after. The Pole has remained atop the ladder throughout the 2024 season but has come under real threat of losing the position once again.
Speaking to the media after her Wuhan Open final win over Zheng Qinwen, Sabalenka said she was happy to see how competitive the rankings space has gotten.
The Belarusian said recapturing the World No. 1 ranking is obviously one of her goals, but was quick to add that she prefers focusing on herself and her game and not looking too far ahead. She addressed the possibility of being the year-end World No. 1 saying, she will know whether she deserves to be in that position at the season-ending WTA Finals.
"Yeah, that's really tight ranking right now. Really nice to see," Sabalenka said.
"I always say of course it's one of the goals, but I prefer focus on myself and just keep working hard. We'll see after the Finals if I was good enough this season to become world No. 1," she added.
Sabalenka captured her third consecutive Wuhan Open title on Sunday, beating Zheng Qinwen in the final. She has already qualified for the WTA Finals and is ranked at No. 1 in the WTA Race rankings for this season.
"I'm super happy to win this beautiful trophy" - Aryna Sabalenka after capturing third straight Wuhan Open title
Aryna Sabalenka also reflected on her Wuhan Open final performance in the press conference, saying she was happy to have come through despite having squandered away the lead in the second set.
The Belarusian went on to express gratitude at getting to lift her third Wuhan Open trophy in as many attempts.
"Yeah, it was tough match. I was up with a break in the second set, then I just lost my focus for a little bit. It became three-set match.But it was a great level match, it was a great fight. Of course, I'm super happy to win this beautiful trophy," Sabalenka said.
Sabalenka also posted wins over the likes of Coco Gauff, Yulia Putintseva, Magdalena Frech and Katerina Siniakova en route to the final.
