Aryna Sabalenka dismisses clear separation of WTA Tour into a Big-3 with her, Iga Swiatek & Elena Rybakina and rest of the players
Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Elena Rybakina have been dominating the WTA Tour for the past few years. However, Sabalenka does not believe the three of them are in a league of their own.
Six out of the last eight Grand Slam women's singles winners have been either Swiatek, Sabalenka, or Rybakina. The trio has also dominated in other events.
They were all present in the semifinals in Madrid and Swiatek faced Sabalenka in the final. Now, the trio is in Italy to conquer the Italian Open, but the Belarusian player does not agree with the idea that they are separate from the other WTA players.
"I know we have some rivals, meaning like me, Iga and Elena. We're doing maybe more consistently, playing more consistently [than] past years. Maybe last year and this year so far," Sabalenka said during the Italian Open press conference.
"I would say that in tennis, anybody can beat anybody. If you would start thinking like, my level is there, they're somewhere there - how to say - you're not respecting them, you underestimate them, and you're kind of like losing it because you're not - how to say - focusing well enough for them," she added.
Sabalenka reiterated that it is all about being focused on the court and not thinking too much about the rankings. She hopes to be in the top three players for as long as possible by continuing to give her best.
Aryna Sabalenka does not believe surface matters for her, Iga Swiatek, and Elena Rybakina
During the same press conference, Aryna Sabalenka was asked if she, Iga Swiatek, and Elena Rybakina were better than each other on specific surfaces.
Sabalenka claimed that surfaces are not all that matter and that it is about key moments in each match.
"Well, I mean, obviously Iga is much better on clay than me, for example. I would say Elena is better on grass. I'm maybe a little bit better on hard court," Sabalenka said.
"At the same time I cannot say that it's all about the surface. I mean, as the time shows, I can beat them on clay, on hard, on grass. It's not about the surface, I would say. It's about honestly in each match couple of key moments where, like, probably she played better," she added.
The trio of the top WTA stars will begin their 2024 Italian Open campaign on Friday, May 10.