Aryna Sabalenka was only two games away from dethroning Iga Swiatek for the number one spot in the WTA Rankings, but she failed to do it.
Iga Swiatek emerged at the top of the rankings last year following the retirement of Ashleigh Barty. Many thought that she inherited the spot because of Barty's retirement, and while in ways she did, the Polish player earned it by winning a couple of huge events as well as going on a 37-match win rampage.
She's been number one since then, and for much of that time, nobody really came close to dethroning her. Some not-ideal (compared to last year) showings saw Aryna Sabalenka come dangerously close to doing that with a chance to get it done at Wimbledon.
She was on the verge of doing it, having led Ons Jabeur comfortably in the Wimbledon semi-final but ultimately crumbled to lose the match in three sets. With the loss, Sabalenka ensured that her Polish rival would remain at the top of the WTA Rankings for at least one more week.
She's likely going to stay there longer than that, as Sabalenka has plenty of points to defend in the upcoming weeks while Swiatek does not. At least not until the US Open, where she defends 2000 points, but she has some time until that.
Currently, Swiatek has 9315 points which is almost 500 points more compared to Sabalenka who is 2nd with 8845. Both are quite ahead of the nearest competition, and it's been a really strong push for Sabalenka who is having a really strong season so far - arguably the best among players.
It's going to be an interesting finish to the year as the battle for number one will certainly be a talking point for the entirety of the remaining season.
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