Aryna Sabalenka honestly discusses chances of breaking Serena Williams' numbers

Friday, 10 October 2025 at 16:05

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byJordan Reynolds

Aryna Sabalenka has been the best WTA player in the last 12 months, but she is skeptical about her chances of surpassing Serena Williams.

Sabalenka has been the world No. 1 since overtaking Iga Swiatek in October 2024. The Belarusian's titles since include her second US Open title, which she won by beating Amanda Anisimova in the final.

Although the last year has been very successful, she could have had a more significant points lead at the top had she not suffered brutal Australian Open and French Open final defeats against Madison Keys and Coco Gauff.

Sabalenka is a four-time Grand Slam singles champion, but remains far behind the 23 major titles Williams won during her iconic career, which ended at the 2022 US Open. Her farewell remains among the most emotional moments in tennis history.

Speaking at the 2025 Wuhan Open, where she is the three-time defending champion, she defeated Elena Rybakina to reach another semifinal. Sabalenka admits she would like to break records, but thinks matching Williams is unlikely.

"All of us want to beat all the records, I think it’s so obvious. I think the right thing to do is focus on yourself, on your game, on developing yourself as the player and the person and if you deserve these big titles, if you deserve to beat some records, you will. So my focus is on developing myself as a player."

"And of course, I want to, but it’s going to be really tough to compete with the Grand Slam titles that Serena has. I guess for me, the goal is to go as far as I can in this sport, and I do my best every day. I dedicate my life to the sport. So I really hope that by the end of my career, I’ll sit back, I’ll look at my results, and I’ll be really proud of myself."

Sabalenka also said the last few years and tough losses have taught her to focus on being the best version of herself and not be concerned about outside noise from others.

"I feel like goals are so obvious, you know, and I don’t like to set up a goal. I love to focus on myself, and that what I learned throughout the year about myself, that I have to just focus on myself. And anyway, whenever I’m there competing, I want to win, so I focus on each match, like step by step."

"I think those tough losses and things that I had to deal this year definitely made me stronger as a person and better as a player. You know, it’s a learning process. And what I learned throughout the years is to accept everything and just do your best at the moment. And that’s it. Basically, that’s all you can control."

While Sabalenka works to have the best career possible, Serena has stayed busy in various ways since retiring from tennis. That includes opening up about her weight loss journey and starting a podcast with Venus Williams.