US Open: Sabalenka shows in quarterfinals why she is about to be No. 1

Day 10 of the US Open saw second seed Aryna Sabalenka cruise past Chinese youngster Zheng Qinwen 6-1, 6-4. Sabalenka is into the semifinals at the US Open for the third straight year and has now made at least the semifinals of every major this year.

On September 11, 2023, Aryna Sabalenka will become the 29th woman to be achieve the coveted number one singles ranking on the WTA tour. In her two matches since learning she would rise to number one, Sabalenka has been in sensational form.

Aryna Sabalenka too much for Zheng Qinwen at the US Open

Zheng Qinwen was overpowered and outclassed in her quarterfinal tussle against Sabalenka. I predicted that Zheng would fall in the quarterfinals against Sabalenka, as Sabalenka has been the player of the tournament. Zheng has the ability to play aggressively from the baseline, but no one on tour does that better right now than Sabalenka.

The biggest question that surrounds each Sabalenka match is: How will she serve? Sabalenka’s serving woes were one of the biggest tennis stories of 2022, but they have mostly subsided this year.

When Sabalenka’s serve is firing, she is almost unplayable. Sabalenka throws her entire body into her bludgeoning groundstrokes, and her movement and patience have improved this year. Let’s also not forget that she is a capable volleyer, as she has won two major doubles titles with Elise Mertens. It is important for a player trying to be the best to actually love playing tennis and Sabalenka appears to love the sport.

Can anyone stop Aryna Sabalenka?

Aryna Sabalenka has yet to drop a set in this tournament. In fact, she has not lost more than four games in a set through five matches. While the other two semifinalists so far also cruised through their quarterfinal matches, none have been as convincing as Sabalenka. Sabalenka should enter the semifinals as the clear favorite to win the title.