Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina are proving themselves as the WTA Tour’s answer to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner and Alcaraz are the two dominant forces in men’s tennis right now, having shared the last nine consecutive Grand Slam titles.
There has not been so much dominance in women’s tennis in terms of Grand Slams, with five different women winning the last five majors.
Despite this, it is clear that Sabalenka and Rybakina are starting to become the WTA alternatives to Sinner and Alcaraz.
Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina are becoming the WTA’s Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
Sabalenka has won 23 of the 24 matches she has played so far in 2026, with her only defeat coming in the Australian Open final against Rybakina.
The last player to beat Sabalenka in 2025 was also Rybakina, who also defeated her in the final of the WTA Finals.
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Rybakina has also produced an impressive run of her own, having lost to only Sabalenka (twice) in her last 15 matches.
The only other three players to have beaten Rybakina this year are Karolina Muchova, Victoria Mboko and Antonia Ruzic, the latter of whom only won via retirement in Dubai.
These are actually the only three players to have beaten Rybakina since the Wuhan Open last year, with a 34-3 record against anyone other than Sabalenka since then.
At tournaments where they have both played since the Wuhan Open, either Sabalenka or Rybakina have ended up as the eventual champion.
This is very similar to Sinner and Alcaraz, who have won every tournament since 2024 where they have both played.
Who is the last player to beat Aryna Sabalenka other than Elena Rybakina?
Sabalenka is on a 25-match winning streak against anyone other than Rybakina, collecting titles in Brisbane, Indian Wells and the Miami Open along the way.
The last time a player other than Rybakina beat Sabalenka was at the Wuhan Open, where she lost in the semifinals to Jessica Pegula.
That came in a third set tie-break, showing just how difficult it is to beat Sabalenka these days.
Sabalenka’s loss to Pegula is her only defeat to anyone other than Rybakina since Wimbledon, with a 37-1 record against players other than the current world number two in this period.
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This dominance will be put to the test at the Madrid Open, where Sabalenka and Rybakina are the top two seeds.
Sabalenka is a three-time former champion in Madrid, while Rybakina has just won a title in Stuttgart to continue her impressive year.
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