Ana Ivanovic "looking forward" to 2024 season as she reacts to the year-end WTA rankings ft. Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff
Ana Ivanovic is eagerly awaiting the 2024 season and has shared her excitement in response to the year-end WTA rankings, which include Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff.
Swiatek concluded her remarkable 2023 season by clinching her second consecutive year-end World No. 1 ranking. She won a tour-leading six titles this year, including the French Open and WTA Finals.
Sabalenka and Gauff claimed the second and third spots, respectively. While Sabalenka secured her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, the American emerged as the winner at the US Open.
Elena Rybakina achieved her first-ever top 10 finish by clinching the fourth spot, courtesy of her victories at the WTA 1000 events in Indian Wells and Rome. Jessica Pegula rounded out the top five, notching up an impressive 43 match wins on hard courts, the highest on the tour for the season.
Ons Jabeur landed in sixth place, with two titles to her name. Marketa Vondrousova and Karolina Muchova both made their debut in the year-end top 10, securing the seventh and eighth positions, respectively. Maria Sakkari and Barbora Krejcikova rounded out the list in ninth and 10th place.
Upon coming across the WTA's social media post on the top 10 players in the year-end rankings, Ana Ivanovic stated that she was eagerly looking forward to the 2024 season.
"Looking forward to the 2024 season 🥰," she posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Iga Swiatek: "I see that Poles don't really like Aryna Sabalenka, we have two completely different personalities colliding"
Iga Swiatek recently addressed the perceived notion of Aryna Sabalenka being the 'bad one' in the sport, in contrast to her own 'good one' image. The Pole firmly rejected such labels, highlighting her stance against promoting negativity towards another player.
However, the four-time Grand Slam champion acknowledged their distinctly different personalities, attributing Sabalenka's perceived lack of popularity among Polish fans to this inherent contrast.
"I see that Poles don't really like her. We simply have two completely different personalities colliding. From here you can see the contrast. I wouldn't say I'm a good character and she's a bad one, because that puts her in a negative light," Iga Swiatek said (via Polish publication Rzeczpospolita).
"We are just different. I don't want to be one of those people who judges. I know what life is like on the Internet and I don't want to contribute to hatred towards anyone. First of all, we have great respect for each other and are kind to each other," she added.
Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have cultivated a thrilling rivalry, facing off in nine tour-level encounters. The Pole leads 6-3 in their head-to-head record, emerging as the victor in two out of their three clashes in 2023.