Aryna Sabalenka becomes first woman since Serena Williams to reach semifinals of Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon in the same year
Aryna Sabalenka has become the first female player since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon in the same calendar year.
Following wins over Panna Udvardy, Varvara Gracheva, Anna Blinkova and Ekaterina Alexandrova, Sabalenka squared off against Madison Keys in the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Wednesday. She eased past the American 6-2, 6-4 to book her third straight appearance in Grand Slam semifinals.
Sabalenka is on track to win the second Major trophy of her career and her first ever on the London lawns. She is also just one win away from becoming the new World No. 1, as Iga Swiatek was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Back in 2016, Serena Williams reached the final of the Australian Open and French Open but was denied the title by Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza respectively. It was third time lucky for the American, who took revenge on Kerber at the All England Lawn Tennis Club to win her seventh Wimbledon title.
Williams also reached the last four of the US Open that year. She lost to Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals.
This year, Aryna Sabalenka defeated Magda Linette and Elena Rybakina in the semis and finals of the Australian Open to lift the trophy. However, the French Open saw the Belarusian suffer a defeat to Karolina Muchova in the semifinals.
Aryna Sabalenka will face Ons Jabeur in the Wimbledon semifinal
Aryna Sabalenka will square off against Ons Jabeur in the semifinal on Thursday, July 13. This will be their fifth meeting on tour. The Belarusian player possesses a commanding lead in the head-to-head against Jabeur, having won three of their four previous encounters.
The duo's first meeting saw Jabeur secure a 7-6(7), 2-6, 6-3 win in the 2020 French Open third-round. Sabalenka levelled the scores in Abu Dhabi the following year, with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-4 win.
The 2021 Wimbledon quarterfinal witnessed Aryna Sabalenka register yet another straight-sets win (6-4, 6-3) over the Tunisian. The Belarusian also won their last meeting, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-5, in the 2022 WTA Finals group stage.
Regardless of the poor record against Sabalenka, it has been an impressive tournament for Ons Jabeur at Wimbledon so far. The Tunisian has beaten Magdalena Frech, Zhuoxuan Bai, Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova and Elena Rybakina to reach the semifinals.