Jon Wertheim says what is worth remembering about Aryna Sabalenka’s serve ahead of the Australian Open

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Aryna Sabalenka is unsurprisingly drawing attention ahead of the Australian Open, having won the last two titles in Melbourne.

Sabalenka has a tough Australian Open draw, having been drawn in the same half as WTA Finals champion Coco Gauff.

But the Belarusian has dominated the Australian Open in recent times, beating Elena Rybakina and Qinwen Zheng in the 2023 and 2024 finals respectively.

Sabalenka will also be full of confidence after emerging victorious at the Brisbane International last week for her 18th WTA title.

She ended the 2024 season ranked in top spot, and heads into the first Grand Slam of 2025 as the top seed.

Jon Wertheim makes claim about Aryna Sabalenka’s underarm serving

But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the Belarusian in her career, with Sabalenka almost quitting tennis three years ago due to double-faulting struggles.

And Jon Wertheim has now addressed the world number one’s serving ahead of her Australian Open title defence.

Discussing Sabalenka’s potential to follow Martina Hingis in winning three consecutive titles at the Grand Slam, he told Tennis Channel: “Martina Hingis, the last player to do that. Could you find two players that play less similarly than Martina Hingis and Aryna Sabalenka?

READ MORE: Aryna Sabalenka shares why she was standing on her racket during the Brisbane International final

“She’s in the prime of her career. She won last year, she won the year before that, she won the previous major, the US Open, played on hard court. How do you pick against her?

“Coco would probably be your second pick, but no, this is a player keep in mind three years ago before she started the streak, she was serving underhand. One of the great tennis stories is her recovery from that.

“But I think she’s got to be the favourite, her seeding would suggest it, and so would her track record over the last two years.”

Martina Hingis among five women to win three consecutive Australian Open titles

Much of the focus on WTA stars and their serving struggles has focused on Gauff in recent times, with the American having led the way for double faults in 2024 with 430.

But she has seemingly been working on that very important area in the off-season, with the 20-year-old having just helped the USA win the United Cup.

She was named MVP after going 7-0 on her tournament debut, and is certain to provide a real challenge to Sabalenka later this month.

READ MORE: The biggest threat to Aryna Sabalenka’s dominance at the Australian Open may not be Coco Gauff

But the Belarusian will be desperate to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Hingis, who won three consecutive Australian Open titles between 1997 and 1999.

Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati and Victoria Azarenka have all come close over the years, but Hingis is the last player to achieve the superb feat.