Aryna Sabalenka is going to be WTA No. 1 for a long time. She isn't the greatest player ever, but she is consistently good currently. She doesn't dominate finals with a career record of around break-even at the end of tournaments, but she almost always makes deep runs in events.
For the last few years, Sabalenka's third-round opponent at the Cincinnati Open, Emma Raducanu, hasn't played much at all. She suffered a number of crippling injuries, and this hurt her ranking and affected her form. She returned in 2024, but is just now beginning to get back to her peak form.
The Brit is talented. One does not win a Grand Slam, such as Raducanu did by taking the title at the 2021 US Open, without talent. But truly great players fight through injuries and off-court issues and remain forces on tour year in and year out.
Aryna Sabalenka dispatches Emma Raducanu in three sets at the Cincinnati Open
But it is easy to forget that Emma Raducanu is only now 22 years old, an age when many players are just beginning their ascent. The perception of the Brit might be hampered by her winning in New York when she was only 18. Perhaps her best tennis is yet to come.
She certainly has learned to battle. She came out on fire against Sabalenka in Cincinnati, winning the first two games and playing far more aggressively than the Belarusian. But Sabalenka isn't No. 1 by mistake. She came back to even the first set and then led it 4-2. Raducanu got another break, however, and the set went to a tie-break, which Sabalenka dominated 7-3.
This did not deter Raducanu too much, however. She got a break midway through set two and held serve relatively easily to even the match at a set apiece.
Oddly, through two sets, Sabalenka had no double faults while Raducanu had six, but Raducanu was landing more of her first serves, and the players were even at winning 75 percent of those serves. The key was that in set two, the Brit had just one double fault and didn't face a break point.
The third set was tight throughout. Neither player was broken, though Emma Raducanu saved four break points. Sabalenka normally plays bigger in the bigger points than whoever else she is playing, but the Brit matched her step for step.
In the deciding tie-break with Raducanu serving at 2-3, the Brit was too timid on a deep shot and Sabalenka was able to rifle a backhand past her in return to lead 4-2. The Belarusian was not able to double down, though, as Raducanu then stole a point on her serve.
At 4-5, Raducanu hit a poor volley, and Sabalenka took advantage to go up 6-4. At 6-5, Sabalenka crushed a serve up the T that Raducanu could not touch to get the WTA No. 1 the victory in three sets in three hours and nine minutes.
Aryna Sabalenka will next play Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro in the round of 16. The Spaniard won her match in a walkover against Taylor Townsend.