Table of Contents
The 2024 WTA Tour season remains epic, and not without tennis rivalry between Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek. They are world No. 1 and world No. 2, respectively.
There is a fierce tennis battle pushing women’s tennis to a whole new level. It was all evident in the recently concluded 2024 WTA Finals held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. While American star and world No 3 Coco Gauff won the finals; Sabalenka and Swiatek commanded cult-like support throughout the tournament.
Anyone challenging Swiatek is worth a headline given her brilliance on the court. SportsLeo.News takes a look at what’s fueling the heightened attention between the Belarusian and the Pole.
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek 2024 Showdown
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek; who impressed you the most this season? It’s both a tough question and subjective too. Swiatek may have failed to regain her previous top seeding but still impressed in one way or the other. To have a clear picture of how they both faired in the 2024 season, let’s look at the following five aspects.
- Grand Slams won
- Physical and mental fitness
- Consistency
- Coaching
- Playing style
WTA stars Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka. Photo/TVP Studio
Grand Slams Won
Sabalenka ends the 2024 WTA Tour with two Grand Slams; the Australian Open and the US Open. The Belarusian successfully defended her Australian Open title in a heat-rending final at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
She won 6-3 6-2 against Chinese tennis player Zheng Qinwen. The world No. 1 won her second slam in the 2024 season at the US Open. She beat Jessica Pegula 7-5 7-5 to mark her first victory at Flushing Meadows. In this dicey Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek debate, the former also won the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open and Wuhan Open.
On the other hand, Swiatek successfully defended her French Open title. The Pole thrashed Jasmine Paolini 6-2 6-1 to win in Paris a fourth time. Interestingly, the second seed beat Sabalenka 7-5 4-6 9-7 to win the 2024 Madrid Open.
The Pole is a five-time Grand Slam champion while Sabalenka is a three-time slam winner. She won two of her three majors in 2024.
Consistency
Consistency plays a huge part in Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek’s 2024 tennis battle. Sabalenka wins on this front having won two majors – the 2024 US Open and the 2024 Australian Open. She further won the Cincinnati Open and the Wuhan Open. It was a huge improvement after bagging her first Grand Slam at the 2023 Australian Open. Sabalenka went against Elena Ryabakina in last year’s Melbourne finals.
On the flip side, Swiatek seemingly didn’t live up to fans’ expectations having won four Grand Slams in the run-up to the 2024 WTA Tour season. That’s despite defending her title as the ‘Queen of Clay’ at the 2023 French Open and in 2024 too. Her fans had higher expectations that she would win on hard courts (Australian Open and US Open) or Wimbledon (grass court).
Physical and Mental Fitness
WTA Tour is grueling and several players have talked about the mental toll it takes on them. Swiatek has been very vocal about this. She repeated it after Paris Olympics 2024 where she won a bronze medal. Therefore; it suffices to say that the tour took some mental toll on her.
World No 2 Iga Swiatek at a past US Open event. 2024 WTA Tour season was emotionally draining for her. Photo/CNN
Nevertheless, she continued with her rigorous training routine, the same as Sabalenka who displayed her brilliance on the court throughout the season. As far as mental and physical fitness for Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are concerned; Sabalenka wins judging by her big wins this season. Swiatek had emotional moments in some matches and this affected her performance
Sabalenka exuded emotional strength and it pushed her to the top of the WTA rankings. Legendary tennis stars like Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and Novak Djokovic among others have spoken about the mental and physical strain tennis players endure.
Playing Style
The style of play for Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek remains a key area of debate among tennis pundits. Swiatek’s playing style involves an incredibly powerful baseline game and aggressive shots.
Sabalenka scared her opponents with powerful groundstrokes and serves especially on hard courts. She won both hard court events; the Australian Open and the US Open.
Coaching
Surprisingly, both Swiatek and Sabalenka trained under the same coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. However, Swiatek parted ways with him following her loss at Flushing Meadows where Sabalenka won. She picked Wim Fissette as her new tennis coach in October.
Without an iota of doubt, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek had a tough season in 2024. They won on different fronts and all eyes are on the upcoming season to see how their on-court rivalry unfolds.
