Even though she has a firm hold on the No.1 ranking, Aryna Sabalenka‘s Grand Slam results have been disappointing this season. Now with the US Open a month away, the Belarusian faces a tricky challenge of ending her season with at least one Major while being the top-ranked player in the world, and should she fail to do so, she will be a part of an unwanted record.

Since the Open Era began, the World No.1 has won 88 Majors on the WTA side, which is about 44 percent of the total Grand Slams played during that period. This stat shows the dominant hold the current No. 1 player has over the biggest events on the calendar. Should Sabalenka finish her season without winning a Major while being the World No.1, she would join a group of seven other players like Kim Clijsters, Jelena Janković, Amelie Mauresmo, Dinara Safina, Caroline Wozniacki, Karolína Plíšková, and Simona Halep who had the unwanted record before the Belarusian.

It would be wrong to say that Sabalenka has not dominated the Slams, as since the 2022 French Open, the Belarusian has reached at least the quarterfinals in 14 straight Majors, a streak broken by her recent loss to Naomi Osaka at Wimbledon. Starting from the 2023 Australian Open till the 2026 Australian Open, the Belarusian has reached eight of the thirteen Grand Slam finals during that period. However, her conversion rate in Major finals has been a bit of a concern, as Sabalenka has lost four Major finals already.

This year, it is not just Sabalenka’s losses but the manner of her defeats that have given rise to the Belarusian’s form. At the Australian Open, she had a 3-0 lead in the third set against Elena Rybakina in the final, but she just lost her footing in the match after that. At the French Open, the wind got the better of her for a second year in a row as she lost ten games in a row against Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals, and lost the match despite being one game away from winning it. Her Wimbledon loss to Osaka was largely because of Osaka’s exceptional serving on the day, but it was yet another disappointing result for Sabalenka, who lost a rare tie-break in a Slam.

Despite her Slam results, Sabalenka still has a 36-6 record for the season, winning three titles. However, given her setbacks at the Grand Slam, the Belarusian now runs the risk of losing her No.1 ranking to Elena Rybakina.

Aryna Sabalenka Faces the Risk of Losing Her No.1 Ranking During the North American Hard Court Swing

Sabalenka might have won only one Major last year, but the Belarusian’s overall form at the Slams was terrific. She had runner-up finishes at both the Australian Open and the French Open, along with a close loss at the Wimbledon semifinals, before winning in New York. However, with the Belarusian’s Major losses this year, especially at the French Open and at Wimbledon, she has lost a major chunk of points from her tally, and with Elena Rybakina winning the Australian Open, the Kazakh is within touching distance of Sabalenka on the WTA Rankings.

As of now, Sabalenka is at No.1 with 8,550 points, with Rybakina being second at 8,143 points. The difference between the two is about 500 points, and if Sabalenka makes an early exit at the US Open as the defending champion and Rybakina makes a deep run, the Kazakh might become the new No.1. But before that, Rybakina has to defend 390 points each at Canada and Cincinnati from her semifinal runs last year, whereas Sabalenka does not have too many points to defend during this period as she did not play in Canada last year and had a quarterfinal finish at the Cincinnati Open.

Should Rybakina stay close to Sabalenka on the points by the US Open, displacing the Belarusian from the top spot will not be an easy feat, as New York is one of the best events for Sabalenka. In the last four years, she has reached three finals and one semifinal at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Belarusian is the two-time defending champion, and one can be sure she will not let go of the No. 1 ranking without a proper fight.