Aryna Sabalenka, by her standards, has endured a rather trying year.
However, when a player is as dominant as she has been, the lofty standards set are often impossible to continue achieving.
That being said, the current world number two has still won three titles, including the Sunshine Double. For that, she deserves some credit.
And, her season is far from over, returning to Wuhan to compete in the final WTA 1000 event of the year, before heading to the WTA Finals.
Speaking ahead of her match this week, Aryna Sabalenka has discussed her love for this particular event, as well as how it feels to have qualified for this prestigious end-of-year event for an incredible sixth straight year.
Aryna Sabalenka reacts as she qualifies for the WTA Finals
Initially, the interviewer wanted to know why she felt she succeeded at this particular tournament so much, as a three-time champion who has never failed to reach the semi-finals at least.
Sabalenka theorised: “I don’t know, I think I like the hotel, the site, of course, the courts, and maybe because it’s the last push of the season, you feel like you’re ready to give it all, and maybe that’s why it’s been quite successful.
Which of these four WTA players will win the most Grand Slams next year?
Sabalenka, Gauff and Swiatek all went without a major title in 2026…
“I would say when I won it for the 1st time, I’ve been pretty successful in China overall, so I don’t know, maybe there’s something in fried rice that makes me run better. [laughs] I don’t know. I have to figure out that secret. But I love playing here.”
Naturally, the Chinese fans’ support for her will help, as she then admitted: “That’s a dream. I feel like when I started, I didn’t have many fans on my side around the world, and now everywhere I go, I feel so much support, and it really means a lot, and it definitely gives you like an extra boost to keep pushing”
As a result of her lack of titles this year, Sabalenka has dropped from first to second in the world rankings, overtaken by Elena Rybakina.
Despite this, she has insisted such a rivalry only makes her better: “I love it. I love this, I would say, like, healthy rivalry. I feel like we both, not only us, it’s like, all of us, I feel like we’re pushing each other to be better.
“Sometimes you drop in the ranking, sometimes you lose some points, you lose some finals, but this is how you learn. I feel like this season is about learning from tough losses and taking it as a good boost, as a good push to improve, to find something else, to get better at and try to get back on top of the game.
“So, I’ve been really enjoying this rivalry.”
Sabalenka finished by reacting to her WTA Finals qualification: “Yeah, that’s actually crazy. I remember before I qualified for the 1st time, I was like trying my very best to qualify for Singapore back then, but I couldn’t make it happen.
“And it was very tough for me to even imagine that one day you’re gonna be like saying, like, oh, how does it feel to qualify for the 6th time in a row?
“I mean, it’s a dream and it means a lot and I’m super excited and I’m ready for this last push of the season.”
This comes after Sabalenka was confirmed as the only player to have achieved an impressive feat this year after Coco Gauff withdrew from the Wuhan Open.
