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Iga Swiatek - United Cup 2024, Aryna Sabalenka - US Open 2023
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Aryna Sabalenka claims ‘people are used to overreacting’ about Iga Swiatek doping case


Aryna Sabalenka has had her say on rival Iga Swiatek receiving a one month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance. 

Sabalenka has enjoyed the best season of her career in 2024, winning both the Australian Open and US Open, enabling the Belarusian to end the year as World No.1 for the first time.

When speaking to The National, Sabalenka admitted that she ‘cannot be confident’ about retaining her place at the top of the WTA rankings next year.

“You cannot be confident on that. It’s a mental thing,” said Sabalenka. “Of course I’d like to stay there as long as possible and I’m working really hard for that, so let’s see how next season is going to be.”

Sabalenka currently sits 1,121 points ahead of nearest rival Swiatek, but has 2,325 points to defend in January alone after winning the Australian Open and reaching the Brisbane final last year.

The Australian Open women’s singles title has been won by Sabalenka for the past two consecutive years, as she bids to become the first woman to win it three successive seasons in a row since Martina Hingis in 1999.

“It would mean a lot,” said Sabalenka when asked about what it would mean to achieve this feat. “I think the key is just to focus on yourself and on bringing your best each time you play, whether it’s Australia or any other country, you just have to bring your best every time and hope for the best.”

Moving away from herself, Sabalenka was then asked about the announcement that came last month when Swiatek was revealed to have tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine in an out-of-competition test back in August.

Despite the positive test, Swiatek only received a one month ban that has now concluded, after being found to have ‘no significant fault or negligence’ by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on the grounds of contamination.

This is the first time that Sabalenka has spoken about this case, with the 26-year-old seemingly wanting to keep her cards close to her chest.

“People are really used to overreacting before figuring stuff out, so I don’t want to leave any comments,” said Sabalenka. “I believe in clean sport and nothing else I can add.”

Both Sabalenka and Swiatek have been at the World Tennis League exhibition in Abu Dhabi this week, and were actually on opposing sides of the court for a doubles match.

However, they will head separate ways for the start of the 2025 WTA season, with Sabalenka playing at the Brisbane International again, while Swiatek represents Poland at the United Cup in Sydney.

Inside the baseline…

Aryna Sabalenka had such a fantastic 2024 season, especially the second half of the year, so it is a realistic goal for her to want to challenge for a third consecutive Australian Open title – even if it is an extremely rare and difficult thing to achieve. Although fans would probably want to hear a more in-depth opinion on what Sabalenka thinks about Iga Swiatek’s doping case, it is probably smart of the Belarusian to not say too much and let the outcome speak for itself.

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Matthew Johns, Tennishead Writer, is a professional tennis journalist with a specialist degree in Sports Journalism. He's a keen tennis player having represented his local club and University plus he's also a qualified tennis coach. Matthew has a deep knowledge of tennis especially the ATP Tour and thrives on breaking big tennis news stories for Tennishead.