Sabalenka snares top ranking as Iga ousted in NY

Aryna Sabalenka will take over the WTA No. 1 ranking next Monday after the fourth-round defeat of Iga Swiatek at the US Open.

The Pole who has reigned atop the table for the past 74 weeks, lost to Jelena Ostapenko on Sunday 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, thereby handing Sabalenka the top spot.

“Reaching the No.1 singles ranking is something I have dreamed of ever since I was a little girl when I started playing tennis,” Australian Open winner Sabalenka said.

“2023 has been such an incredible year for me and my team and this is the perfect reward for all our hard work.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling to join the amazing list of other WTA players to achieve this and it’s a huge honor to be able to call myself the No.1 singles player in the world.”

Swiatek was bittersweet about dropping to second in the rankings after so long at the top.

“Obviously, it (No. 1) was great; on the other hand this last (period), it was pretty exhausting. I still need to do all this stuff that my team and all these great players like Roger or Novak or Rafa are telling about: you just have to focus on the tournaments, not the rankings.

“I’m not looking at numbers, but overall I love them. I would love to, like,extend this record a little bit longer. 

“When I was younger, I actually kind of wanted to break a record. I already did that since I won a slam as a first Polish player.”

Swiatek added: ” When you lose (No. 1), there are some sad emotions. But all the great players know it’s going to come back if you work hard, focus on the right things, and just develop as a player.”