Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have been the best WTA players during the last couple of seasons, but the Pole's coach does not rate Sabalenka as her greatest rival.
The last two WTA seasons have featured epic battles for the year-end No. 1 ranking between Swiatek and Sabalenka, which drew much attention and was undoubtedly positive for women's tennis.
Swiatek has mostly dominated the No. 1 ranking since April 2022, when she moved ahead of Ashleigh Barty at the top after the Australian's retirement from tennis. Sabalenka is the only player who has overtaken her since.
The Belarusian was at No. 1 heading into the 2023 WTA Finals in Cancun, but Swiatek won the season-ending tournament to finish as the year-end No. 1, denying Sabalenka one of her biggest goals.
However, Sabalenka took revenge this year. After a sensational season that included winning the Australian Open and US Open, she ended 2024 as the world No. 1 ahead of her rival.
Swiatek helped Sabalenka's cause by missing the entire Asian swing in September and October. Fans recently discovered that was due to the four-time French Open champion accepting a one-month suspension after testing positive for the banned substance on trimetazidine.
That led to Swiatek receiving a provisional ban, but she had it removed on October 4th when additional testing proved her explanation that the melatonin tablets she purchased were contaminated with trimetazidine.
Swiatek has already been cleared to return after serving most of her one-month suspension while provisionally banned. That means she could play more epic matches against Sabalenka in 2025.
The Top 2 female players in the world played three times in 2024. Swiatek triumphed on her favored clay courts in the Madrid Open and Italian Open finals, but Sabalenka dismantled the Pole in the Cincinnati Open semifinals.
Their extraordinary battle in Madrid was one of the best matches in WTA history. After a match of stunning quality from start to finish, Swiatek saved three championship points to triumph 7-5, 4-6, 7-6.
Swiatek leads their overall head-to-head 8-4: 5-1 on clay and 3-3 on hard courts. Both women keep getting better, and it seems inevitable that fans will be treated to more terrific battles in the future.
However, in a video produced by Przeglad Sportowy, Fissette answered with Elena Rybakina's name when asked which opponent is the toughest for Swiatek to beat, which might surprise some.
Rybakina and Swiatek's head-to-head might illustrate why Fissette holds that opinion. The Kazkhstani holds a 4-2 lead, including winning both matches held on clay, making her the only player to dominate against Swiatek on the dirt.
Their most recent meeting was a three-set victory for Rybakina on the indoor clay courts at the Stuttgart Open. Swiatek won their other match in 2024 in the Qatar Open final after an excellent performance.
Rybakina's powerful serve and very flat groundstrokes do not give Swiatek the rhythm she enjoys playing with. As their head-to-head shows, she poses a unique threat to Swiatek, which makes Fissette's choice of her over Sabalenka understandable.
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