Aryna Sabalenka Confesses WTA Players’ Biggest Struggle Over Male Stars

Over the years, there has been one major change in women’s tennis as compared to men’s tennis, which is seen even today. After Serena Williams was well past her peak, women’s tennis became hard to predict, with different players achieving success in different tournaments. Moreover, even the top-ranked players in the women’s circuit began changing frequently, which is not the case with men’s tennis. Only a handful of male players have been at the top in the past few years. On the other hand, as many as 13 women’s players have achieved the World Number 1 ranking in the last 15 years. Amid this, Aryna Sabalenka reasoned out why this happens in women’s tennis.

Sabalenka is in New York, where she is defending her US Open title. The Belarusian star has reached the third round after some straightforward wins in the earlier two outings. Recently, she appeared on the Whoop podcast, during which she was asked why women’s world number 1 keeps changing frequently.

Replying to this, she said, “I mean, the way I see it, the women’s bodies are more complex than men’s, and our hormones, like everything is so different to men’s; emotionally, they’re more stable. So that’s why they are basically the same every day. Yeah, they can struggle with some things, but emotionally they are stable and I think that’s why they are able to, um, bring that consistency.”

Since Serena Williams was last dethroned as World Number 1 in 2017, as many as nine different players have become World Number 1 on the WTA Tour, including the likes of Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek, and Sabalenka herself. This goes to show how unpredictable women’s tennis is, as can be seen from the big names like Madison Keys getting knocked out early at the ongoing US Open.

The only consistent name at the top of women’s tennis in the past two decades has been Serena Williams, who spent an astonishing 319 weeks as world number 1. Despite this, Aryna Sabalenka never idolized Williams in her career.

Aryna Sabalenka makes shocking admission on never idolizing Serena Williams

Over the years, Williams has become a role model for many young stars. She set numerous examples on how to overcome all odds to succeed and motivated young girls to take up the sport. Even when Sabalenka was emerging in her tennis career, Williams was at the peak, but the Belarusian star never idolized her.

Talking about this, Sabalenka said, “Of course, I want to dominate the way Serena was dominating the tour. But growing up, I didn’t have any idols. I don’t know if it’s good or bad because everyone was inspired by someone, and I want to be an inspiration for the next generation. I think that’s the goal in life.”

While Williams has gone on to win an astonishing 23 major titles, Sabalenka has won 3 Grand Slam titles so far. She has a glorious chance to add to that tally at the ongoing US Open and will face Leylah Fernandez next. The match can be followed on EssentiallySports’ Live Blog.