At the Wuhan Open, Belarusian powerhouse Aryna Sabalenka reaffirmed her position as the world’s top player till the end of 2025. The 27-year-old will end the year as the women’s circuit’s queen, having dominated the WTA Rankings from the start of the year. This accomplishment was appropriately made during the WTA-1000 in Wuhan, where she has never lost a match.
This will be the second consecutive season where Sabalenka ends the year as World No. 1 over Iga Swiatek. In October 2024, she held off her Polish counterpart to overtake her in the rankings, and managed to end the year on the throne. This year, Sabalenka reached three Grand Slam finals – retaining her US Open crown in the process. Although Swiatek won Wimbledon, the top seed’s four titles and four finals were always going to be hard to top. On Friday, Swiatek shockingly fell to No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini in Wuhan. The 24-year-old had no answers to the Italian’s fierce counter-attacking groundstrokes, and lost 1-6 2-6 in just over an hour. Despite becoming a six-time major champion and also winning big titles in Cincinnati and Seoul, the World No. 2 could not take the final leap of faith. On the other hand, Sabalenka entered the Wuhan Open Semifinals by beating Elena Rybakina in straight sets.
How Did Aryna Sabalenka Ensure World No. 1 Ranking Retention?
Sabalenka made a strong start to the 2025 season – the 27-year-old managed to win the Brisbane International, before finishing as the runner-up at the Australian Open. Entering the draw as the defending champion in Melbourne Park, Sabalenka was agonisingly close to capturing a third consecutive championship at the first Slam of the year. After a disappointing outing in the Middle East, the Belarusian dug deep to reach four consecutive finals – Indian Wells (F), Miami (W), Stuttgart (F) and Madrid (W). At Roland Garros, Sabalenka reached the semifinal stage without dropping a set. Here, she survived an enchanting duel with Iga Swiatek to enter a maiden final in Paris. Despite falling short vs Coco Gauff in the summit clash, it was a memorable tournament for the top seed. Following two semifinal outings on grass, Sabalenka roared back to form by lifting a second consecutive US Open crown over her head. She defeated two Americans – 2024 finalist Jessica Pegula and No. 8 seed Amanda Anisimova – en route to another glorious triumph at Flushing Meadows.