TENNIS.com's 2024 ATP Match of the Year: Novak Djokovic conquers Carlos Alcaraz at the Olympics, and finally wins gold

Her 2024 campaign began with a no-nonsense title defense at the Australian Open. Only once was Sabalenka pushed beyond a 6-4 set win in Melbourne, and she would win that set (against Coco Gauff) anyway. Earlier-than-expected losses in Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami delayed additional hard-court heroics, and Sabalenka gave all she could on clay. But rival Iga Swiatek stymied the 26-year-old in the Madrid and Rome finals.

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When Sabalenka opted out of Wimbledon and the Summer Olympics, it didn’t seem like her season would end on the same note as it began.

“I think at the end it was very important for me to take a little break,” Sabalenka said in Washington, D.C., just before she took off again. “I had really tough, tough struggles starting from March.

“I’m just talking for myself. I feel it was really much needed, and I’ll be ready.”

She certainly was. Between mid-August and mid-October—three WTA 1000 tournaments and a Grand Slam—the Belarusian win 20 of 21 matches. Her first US Open triumph felt long overdue, but she delivered as the betting favorite. Embracing her elite status in tennis, and becoming something of a crossover celebrity, Sabalenka is one of the faces of our sport. That’s a very good thing.—Ed McGrogan

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A post shared by Aryna Sabalenka (@arynasabalenka)

What’s to Come in 2025?

When I think back on Sabalenka's season, I look most fondly on her championship point in Wuhan. Her shot selection perfectly encapsulates the player she has become. She opens with an inimitably powerful backhand return, surprises an off-balance Zheng Qinwen with a drop shot and deftly volleys the reply to silence the partisan crowd.

It's easy to claim Sabalenka got to world No. 1 with brute force, but that overlooks the meticulous work she has done to refine her technique and transform a low-margin game into one of the most consistent on tour. While the field already has reason to fear her power, they may lose yet more sleep by the idea that Aryna is fast approaching her final form, one that combines relentless offense, mental toughness, and the oft-elusive all-court game. Her ruthless efficiency on hard courts belies her aptitude for clay and grass, and she will enter Roland Garros and Wimbledon with nothing to lose after injuries derailed campaigns at both.

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A post shared by Aryna Sabalenka (@arynasabalenka)

Off the court, she has embraced her role as leader of the pack, acting as the tour's renegade social director and corralling her rivals into trendy Tik Toks. Many have asked how best to market the sport; with her enthusiastic interests in fashion and pop culture, Sabalenka may be the answer.

Sabalenka withstood substantial physical and personal tests and was still clearly the best at all but a handful of tournaments in 2024. What might an unleashed Aryna achieve in 2025?—David Kane