Despite falling painfully short at the first three majors of the year, Aryna Sabalenka is having an absolute monster season — and the numbers prove it (so does the eye test, if you’ve been paying attention).
After her semifinal showing at Wimbledon last week, where she earned 780 points after missing last year’s tournament due to a shoulder injury, the World No. 1 is up to 12,420 points in the PIF WTA Rankings. That 12,000 benchmark is notable, as it’s the first time since 2015 that a player has reached that total. (Serena Williams was the last player to hit that mark, reaching 12,721 points during the US Open that year.)
Sabalenka has also opened up a 4,751-point lead over World No. 2 Coco Gauff (7,669 points), the biggest gap between top-ranked players in nearly two-and-a-half years. (Back in February 2023, reigning Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek led Sabalenka by 4,800 points.)
Swiatek, currently No. 3 in the world with 6,813 points, nearly hit the 12,000 mark last year, topping out at 11,695.
Sabalenka, whose remarkable consistency and steadiness have resulted in 10 Grand Slam semifinals in her last 11 major appearances, boasts an incredible 47-9 record this season — her 56 matches are more than any other player in the Top 50 — and three titles (Brisbane, Miami, and Madrid). Earlier this month, the 27-year-old became the first player to qualify for the 2025 WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF.
Originally scheduled to play the Omnium Banque Nationale WTA 1000 in Montreal later this month, Sabalenka opted to withdraw from the event, citing fatigue. She will lead the field at the Cincinnati Open, after winning the WTA 1000 event last year, the following week, and will be regarded by many as the favorite at the US Open at the end of the summer. Sabalenka won her maiden Open last year in Flushing Meadows, topping Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 in the final.