Aryna Sabalenka established herself as the WTA’s best hard court player following her success in 2024.
She claimed the Australian Open and US Open titles this year in addition to the Cincinnati and Wuhan Open championships.
Sabalenka’s success on these courts were the catalyst behind her ascent to the top of the WTA Tour rankings.
She goes into 2025 as the player to beat, especially on hard courts and will commence the season with her defence of her title at Melbourne Park, which she has won two years in a row.
Who is best positioned to beat Aryan Sabalenka on hard courts?
Aryna Sabalenka claimed 41 wins on hard courts in 2024, and she lost on just seven occasions.
Her aggressive and powerful game is ideal for the fast and bouncy surfaces, and she proved to everyone how destructive she can be on those courts this season.
Other than defeating Iga Swiatek on clay, beating Sabalenka on a hard court is no easy feat, but Nicole Pratt, Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup captain, named two players she thinks has the variety to cause the World number one some problems on her favourite surface.
“Someone like Paolini has some variety, she can mix in different types of balls, unfortunately she gets exposed by Sabalenka with the second serve,” Pratt told the AO Show podcast.
“But you know who I absolutely love, it’s Emma Navarro. She has game. She has variety. She finished top 10. I think someone with that type of game, bit of variety and range.
“I love a player who when you think they are in trouble can play havoc with that shorter ball, a slice, which Ash [Barty] did incredibly well when she was on defence. It’s such an awkward shot to play. Sabalenka is further round to a western grip on the forehand, so it’s awkward.”
What is Aryna Sabalenka’s head-to-head record against Jasmine Paolini and Emma Navarro?
Sabalenka has only played against Jasmine Paolini and Emma Navarro on a handful of occasions so far.
The World number one has played the Italian on five occasions, and four of them were played on hard courts, with Sabalenka winning three times.
The 26-year-old has played against Navarro just three times, all of which took place in 2024.
The two-time Grand Slam champion claimed wins against the American in front of her home fans at the US Open semi-finals, and at Roland Garros.
But unlike Paolini, Navarro does have a hard court victory against Sabalenka, which came in their very first meeting at the Indian Wells Masters in March.
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