Aryna Sabalenka says she wants to feature on Arthur Ashe Stadium in her upcoming fourth-round match at the 2023 US Open.
Sabalenka wasn't quite at her best in her first-round win, but has since gradually found her game, dropping just the five games in the second round and then allowed a powerless Clara Burel to win merely the two games in her most recent match.
The Belarusian dropped just the eight points behind serve, dictated the vast majority of points and never really allowed Clara Burel to deploy her variety with any kind of success, utilising her time on the ball to great effect on the day.
Sabalenka has played each and every one of her three matches away from the main Arthur Ashe Stadium. She talked about hoping to be competing on that court in her next match.
"I mean, of course I have noticed that. Of course I would like to play on Ashe. It's different atmosphere. Louis Armstrong giving me such support and I like playing there, but yeah, I hope that the next match will be on Ashe. No pressure. I feel good on Louis Armstrong. I feel good on Ashe. It's yeah, whatever."
No.6 seed Coco Gauff was fortunate enough to play all of her first three matches on the main court, while Iga Swiatek will have competed twice on there after her upcoming fourth-round clash with Jelena Ostapenko.
It can be argued that both will possess a slight advantage in terms of getting used to how Ashe feels, adjusting to the speed of the surface, and growing accustomed to the huge size of the court.
Ashe has its own unique qualities, and there isn't really another court across the WTA Tour that is anything like it, so Sabalenka will be hoping that she gets allocated on there sooner rather than later.
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