Sabalenka hopes to end the year as the world’s best player

Aryna Sabalenka lost in a dramatic three-set battle against Coco Gauff in the 2023 US Open final, falling short of securing her second Grand Slam championship of the year, but she views this experience as a good learning opportunity as she strives to end the year as the world’s top player.

Sabalenka arguably had the best season of any player on the WTA Tour this year after making at least the semifinals in all four majors, winning her first Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open, and winning three singles titles overall (including her second victory at the 1000 event in Madrid, where she defeated No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the final). Starting on Monday, Sabalenka will also take the top spot for the first time in her career.

“Being ranked No. 1 in the world is a significant advancement and accomplishment. I’m quite proud of myself for using all those years of arduous labor to propel myself to the top of the world. But for me, it’s more important to be the world’s best at the end of the year rather than simply being the best one week and dropping to second the next.

“It’s fantastic that I can claim I’ve held the top spot in the world, but I truly want to end the year in that position. I’m still motivated and optimistic because of this, Sabalenka stated in a post-match news conference.

The defending Australian Open winner led the final on Saturday night by one set, but Gauff rallied to win the match 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 and prevent Sabalenka from becoming the first player to win all four of this year’s hard-court majors without dropping a set.

Sabalenka said, “In the first set, I was handling my emotions fairly well. I was preoccupied with myself and not the audience or [Gauff’s] movements. The second set was when I believe I may have overthought things, and as a result, I began to lose some of my strength.

In the second set, the roles were reversed as Gauff never lost serve while Sabalenka committed more mistakes than in the first. Gauff was outperforming everyone else in terms of movement and defense. I was forced to play like an additional ball as a result.

“In the second set, there were a lot of unforced mistakes, and that’s how I persuade her that she can win this match. Regarding her last match against Gauff, she said, “I became too emotional after the second set.

In Monday’s revised singles rankings, Sabalenka will still move up to World No. 1 despite the defeat. The rise to the top follows Sabalenka’s finest Grand Slam season in her career. Sabalenka reached her maiden Grand Slam final at the Australian Open this year after losing three consecutive major semifinal matches. She then defeated Elena Rybakina to win her first major championship.