Aryna Sabalenka and Tommy Paul are two of the top players on their respective WTA and ATP Tours.
Sabalenka is the current world number one, with the advantage over her rivals increasing in recent months.
With that being said, Sabalenka was beaten by Qinwen Zheng for the first time in their recent Italian Open quarter-final.
While Sabalenka exited at the quarter-final stage in Rome, Tommy Paul advanced to the semi-finals before being beaten by Jannik Sinner.
Victoria Azarenka says who she thinks hits harder out of Aryna Sabalenka and Tommy Paul
Azarenka is a compatriot of Sabalenka, and has only won one of her six previous matches against the three-time major winner.
She also sometimes trains with the aforementioned Paul, with Azarenka also seen supporting the American in his players’ box at the Madrid Open.
When speaking on fellow WTA player Daria Kasatkina’s YouTube Channel, Azarenka was asked which of the two players she thinks hits harder.
While she did not give a definitive answer, Azarenka suggested that Sabalenka has the heavier shots on both wings.
“She’s strong too,” Azarenka said about Sabalenka. “There’s two ways of looking at it, heaviness and speed and I think there are people who can play faster, but not as heavy. Aryna plays heavy… and fast.
“Tommy plays forehand can be heavy, backhand fast, backhand is not that heavy. Forehand can be heavy.”
Does Aryna Sabalenka hit the ball harder than ATP players?
It is not just Paul that Sabalenka can compete against in terms of power, but the majority of the ATP Tour.
In October last year, it was reported by the ATP that the average forehand speed for top 10 players was 75 mph.
Putting this in comparison to Sabalenka, it was recorded that when she won the US Open last year she had an average forehand speed of 80mph.
This was even ahead of the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and men’s singles champion Jannik Sinner at that specific tournament.
Sabalenka will be hoping that her forehand is firing once again at Roland Garros, as she bids to win her fourth major title.
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