Aryna Sabalenka became the No. 1 again this week, and a seven-time Grand Slam doubles finalist believes she deserves to be back at the top.
Sabalenka started 2024 very strongly by retaining her Australian Open title by defeating Qinwen Zheng in the final. She then went over six months without winning a tournament.
The Belarusian returned to form spectacularly in August by securing titles at the Cincinnati Open and the season's final Grand Slam at the US Open. She had come close at Flushing Meadows the previous three years, making her run in New York particularly special.
Those successes also took Sabalenka close to Iga Swiatek in the rankings. The Pole then did not play during the Asian swing after splitting with her longtime coach of three years, Tomasz Wiktorowski.
Sabalenka took full advantage by winning the Wuhan Open for the third time, which guaranteed she would overtake Swiatek when the Pole drops the points she earned for triumphing at last year's WTA Finals.
However, a controversial WTA rule allowed Sabalenka to become No. 1 this week. Both women were penalized for not playing at least six WTA-500 tournaments, meaning the points from their lowest-ranked events were removed.
Sabalenka only lost 10 points from losing in the second round of the Dubai Championships, but Swiatek dropped 120 points from reaching the fourth round of the Miami Open, allowing the 23-year-old's rival to overtake her.
Unfortunately for Swiatek, that rule will disproportionately impact her for a second time. The Pole is set to lose 190 points compared to Sabalenka's 65 ahead of the WTA Finals, giving the Belarusian an even bigger lead at the top of the rankings.
Casey Dellacqua, who won the 2011 French Open mixed doubles titles and made seven Grand Slam women's doubles finals, does not think that rule changes the fact that Sabalenka deserves to be No. 1.
Speaking on the Australian Open show, Dellacqua praised Sabalenka's achievements and said she is the best player in the world on hard courts in particular.
"There's no doubt in the last few months Sabalenka's form: I believe she well and truly deserves the No. 1 world ranking. She obviously won titles in Cincinnati, but also in Wuhan, where she won big thousand titles there. So, obviously winning the US Open as well."
"So I think she's very, especially on the hard courts as well, especially on the hard courts there's no doubt for me Sabalenka is the No. 1 player in the world in the moment, and I think she really deserves that spot."
"Coming into the WTA Finals is obviously is still a little bit to play out for the rest of this season and then into the AO summer. But in terms of Sabalenka? A well-deserved return back to world No. 1."
Sabalenka is the overwhelming favorite to finish as the year-end No. 1. Three victories in the round-robin stage at the WTA Finals would be enough to achieve that, even if Swiatek retains her title.