Aryna Sabalenka explains her post-US Open absence ahead of Wuhan return
NewsSunday, 05 October 2025 at 13:00
Aryna Sabalenka will return to the tennis courts more than a month after winning her fourth career Grand Slam title at the 2025 US Open.
Sabalenka won the US Open to clinch her fourth career Grand Slam. It was a dominant ride, as she lost only one set on her way to the title. Despite her dominant ride, the Belarusian player missed a full month of action after her win in New York.
The world No. 1 player withdrew from the China Open in Beijing. At the time, she cited "an injury from the US Open" as a reason for her withdrawal. Now, Sabalenka will return to the tennis courts at the Wuhan Open.
Ahead of the WTA 1000 event in Wuhan, Sabalenka spoke to the press, and expectedly, she was asked about her absence. The top seed explained that she didn't want to rush her return to the courts after winning the US Open, which is why she chose not to compete in Beijing.
"I feel good. I just didn't want to rush my body into the tournament, so I think we made the right decision to take extra time for recovery and for the preparation, and now physically, I feel ready to go."
Aryna Sabalenka sees her 2025 season as a success
Although the 2025 season is still underway, the Grand Slam part of it is already over, and as someone who wants to win every major she enters, Sabalenka is in a position to already rate her 2025 season. That was one of the questions she faced in Wuhan.
She is the world No. 1 with a nearly 2,500-point lead, and she leads the 2025 WTA Race by 1,457 points. Despite winning "only" one Grand Slam tournament this year, Sabalenka has plenty of reasons to be satisfied with her season.
She won tournaments in Brisbane, Miami, Madrid, and the US Open, matching her four-title run from last year. With a few events left to go, she still has a chance to surpass her last year's title tally, which would make it the most successful season in her career in that sense.
"I would rate my season as a pretty successful season. The goal is to stay the same, to improve myself every day, to keep the position of world number one, to see how far I can get in this sport and how much I can win."
Sabalenka faces a challenging draw in Wuhan
Sabalenka is a top seed at the 2025 Wuhan Open, and even though that means a first-round bye for her, the following rounds won't get any easier for the Belarusian. She can face Anna Kalinskaya already in the second round and fellow Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin in round three.
After that, Sabalenka's quarter-final opponent could be either four-time major winner Naomi Osaka or former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. The Wuhan Open draw is stacked, so Sabalenka's journey to defending her title won't be easy.
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