She is the first player who Aryna Sabalenka ever beat in a Grand Slam match who has recently hit out at the WTA

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Aryna Sabalenka is a long way from the player that needed to qualify to win her first Grand Slam match in 2017.

Sabalenka has just won the Miami Open, stretching her lead at the top of the WTA rankings over nearest rival Iga Swiatek.

This is the biggest title of her season so far, with Sabalenka losing the Australian Open final in heartbreaking fashion back in January.

Although she was unable to capture the title in Melbourne on that occasion, the Belarusian is still a three-time Grand Slam winner, with Sabalenka’s most recent major the 2024 US Open.

Sabalenka is now one of the favorites for every Grand Slam tournament she plays in, but it was a very different story when she arrived at Wimbledon in 2017.

Aryna Sabalenka wins first ever Grand Slam match at Wimbledon in 2017

Ahead of Wimbledon in 2017, Sabalenka was just 19-years-old and had never played in the main draw of a Grand Slam before.

This all changed at SW19, with Sabalenka’s dominant third round qualifying victory over Kristine Ahn confirming her place in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.

Sabalenka would get an opportunistic first round draw against Russian player Irina Khromacheva, who had also never won a Grand Slam singles match.

The then teenager would grab this with both hands, as Sabalenka beat Khromacheva, 6-3 6-4, to claim her first ever Grand Slam win.

Sabalenka would go onto lose her subsequent match to German player Carina Witthoeft, but that was just the start for her.

She would make a rapid rise up the rankings over the next year, with Sabalenka becoming seeded for the 2018 US Open where she would win her next Grand Slam match en route to reaching the fourth round.

Although Sabalenka won her first ever Grand Slam match at Wimbledon, it is one of the only two major tournaments she is yet to win.

Why did Irina Khromacheva criticize the WTA in 2024?

Sabalenka and Khromacheva’s singles careers have gone on very different trajectories since their Wimbledon encounter.

Khromacheva has never won a Grand Slam singles match, and is currently unranked after not playing a match on her own for over a year.

The 29-year-old now focuses on doubles, where she is the current world number 16, and was actually involved in drama at a WTA tournament last year.

At the China Open, Khromacheva and doubles partner Anna Danilina lost in the first round to the first time pairing of Paula Badosa and Karolina Muchova.

Badosa, who is the best friend of Sabalenka, and Muchova then withdrew from their subsequent doubles match.

Khromacheva took to social media to show that she was not happy about this and suggested that Badosa and Muchova’s decision was disrespectful to doubles players.

“Bravo WTA… We lost to singles players in doubles in Beijing tournament… And second round they are pulling out cause they don’t care about doubles… but they continue to play singles this week…” Khromacheva wrote on Instagram.

“Completely crazy by taking place of teams who could enter and participate fully… I had this situation twice this year that when they won the first round they pulling out… Without respect to doubles players… And also for people who are signing in on-site trying to get in… Very nice rule.

“Plus tournament losing one match on the schedule… Respect in WTA Tour, no didn’t hear it exists… CRAZY…”

Despite being annoyed at this situation, Khromacheva and Danilina used their frustration to help spur them on to the title at their next tournament, the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open.