Aryna Sabalenka and her journey is worth celebrating whether or not she wins Wimbledon 2021, she produced a perfect game to oust Ons Jabeur to increase her ranking
It was a competition between the firsts. Both Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur had reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time. In contrast, Aryna Sabalenka had made it to any grand slam quarter-finals for the first time in Wimbledon 2021. Not that either of them played with less heart or did not give it all.
Aryna Sabalenka Life, Family, Ranking And Career
Aryna Sabalenka was born in Minsk, the capital city of Belarus on the 5th of May in 1988. Her father, Sergey Sabalenka, was a hockey player and passed away in 2019. The 23-year old revealed that Tennis occurred in her life by chance as she and her father once passed by a Tennis court.
Sergey took her daughter to the same and Aryna loved watching the sport. The 23-year old started training at the National Tennis Academy when it opened in 2014. Sabalenka has a tiger tattoo on her left arm, earning her a nickname, ‘The Tiger’. Her idols growing up were legends Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
Aryna Sabalenka currently has a WTA ranking of 4 in the singles category with her height being 5 feet 11 inches. The 23 year old is available on her Instagram handle @sabalenka_aryna.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Ons Jabeur Wimbledon 2021
But Aryna Sabalenka was the better player on the day and prevailed convincingly. The Belarusian had not made it past the fourth round before this event in the singles’ category. But she produced probably her best game in Wimbledon 2021 so far against a formidable opponent.
Aryna Sabalenka initial years and coming through
Aryna Sabalenka started playing in the ITF Women’s circuit in 2012 and did not win a match in her hometown of Minsk in five tournaments over two years. The Belarusian’s first victory came along towards the end of 2014 in Istanbul. Two years later, she made her Fed Cup debut and lost only one game.
Sabalenka featured in her first WTA open in February 2017 as a qualifier in Dubai Open. However, she did not triumph until Wimbledon in 2017. While the 23-year old made her grand slam debut in Wimbledon that year, Sabalenka could not go beyond the 2nd round until this year.
The youngster’s first WTA title arrived at the Connecticut Open in 2018, beating Julia Gorges and Carla Suarez Navarro in the semi-final and final, respectively. Aryna Sabalenka’s consistent performances earned her the WTA Newcomer of the year award in 2018. In 2019, the Belarusian clinched the WTA Elite Trophy, Shenzhen Open, and Zhengzhou Open, making three titles in China alone.
Aryna Sabalenka’s conquests in the doubles’ category since 2020
At the same time, Aryna Sabalenka began her rise as a potent doubles’ player with Elise Mertens in 2019. The 23-year old won the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open with Mertens before losing at the French Open semi-finals. The pair also sustained a defeat at the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
The pair enjoyed their best result in the US Open. Sabalenka and Mertens beat Victoria Azarenka and Ashleigh Barty to claim their first grand slam title in any discipline. Sabalenka grabbed a single title at the Wuhan Open, but lost the doubles fixture at the final.
While Aryna Sabalenka could not do much in the grand slams in 2020, she won three WTA titles in Qatar and Linz. The following year, by virtue of consistent performances, including an Australian Open doubles title, she became the number one doubles player.
Sabalenka further emerged victorious at the Madrid Open, beating Ashleigh Barty in the decider. Aryna partnered with Victoria Azarenka to win the doubles crown at the 2021 Berlin Open, proving herself to be in good stead ahead of Wimbledon.
Aryna Sabalenka’s dream run at Wimbledon 2021 so far
The world number four entered Wimbledon 2021 as the second seed and has enjoyed memorable encounters one after the other. After beating Monica Niculescu in straight sets, she suffered a scare. Sabalenka lost the first set to wild card entrant Katie Boulter before bouncing back to defeat in her the following two.
The Belarusian beat Maria Camila Osorio Serano comfortably and prevailed over Elena Rybakina with little difficulty. But Ons Jabeur, despite her 24th ranking, was going to be a tough nut to crack. Here was a player, who stood tall over three grand slam champions to make it to her maiden Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Jabeur, known for her resilience, again displayed some to waive off four break points against Aryna Sabalenka by producing good defence. Sabalenka, continuously unleashing crosscourt forehands, was able to convert her fifth opportunity into a win 6-4.
When the second set remained tied at 3-3, the second seed converted her game point to lead 4-3 and broke Jabeur’s serve. That gave Aryna Sabalenka a healthy lead. And while the Tunisian fought valiantly, Sabalenka closed the match with a hammer-like backhand.
Should be careful of not placing too much expectations on Aryna Sabalenka
As a result, Aryna Sabalenka reached a grand slam singles semi-final for the first time. The 23-year old also became the first Belarusian to do so since Natasha Zvereva in 1998 and Victoria Azarenka in 2011 and 2012. While her aim would be to reach the summit, Sabalenka’s current achievements are already lofty enough.
At the semis, she is set to face the eighth seed Karina Pliskova, who has a superior record in grand slams. We should not feel surprised by either result. While Pliskova has not made it past the semi-finals in all three grand slam events, she has the experience of playing it.
On the other hand, Sabalenka’s promising show thus far bodes well ahead of her maiden major semi-final. If over expectations might have caused Jabeur and Emma Raducanu to fail in the quarter-finals, it is best to tone it down in the case of Sabalenka.
Also Read: Wimbledon 2021 Predictions: Likely Pairs Who Could Win The Mixed Doubles Title