Aryna Sabalenka’S dominance on the WTA Tour has been befitting of a world number one.
The Belarusian, a four-time Grand Slam singles champion, has lost just one of her 24 matches on the Tour this year.
Her sole loss came against Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final.
Since then, Sabalenka has been virtually unstoppable, completing the ‘sunshine double’ by winning Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
How many Grand Slams will Aryna Sabalenka win this year?
She looks unstoppable right now!
When delving into the analytics of Sabalenka’s performances this year, the reason for her recent dominance becomes clear.
Aryna Sabalenka has made significant improvements on her serve this year
When studying Sabalenka’s statistical metrics on Tennis Abstract, one thing becomes clear.
Aryna Sabalenka has improved every metric of her serve.
When comparing her serving to the 2025 season, Sabalenka is holding her serve more often, and hitting a higher percentage of aces and a lower percentage of double faults.
She is also landing more first serves and winning a higher number of points on her first and second serve.
In fact, Sabalenka is winning 5.8 per cent more of her service points than she did in 2025.
Sabalenka’s serving improvements are even more remarkable when considering that she was a player who struggled significantly on her serve just a few years ago.
| Statistical Area [%] | 2025 | 2026 |
| Service hold rate | 77.7 | 87.6 |
| Ace rate | 5.7 | 7.9 |
| Double-fault rate | 3.1 | 2.4 |
| First-serve percentage | 62.7 | 65.5 |
| First-serve points won | 68.4 | 73.4 |
| Second-serve points won | 50.5 | 56.2 |
| Service points won | 61.7 | 67.5 |
Early in her career, Sabalenka was a player who would frequently hit double-digit double-fault numbers during matches.
However, with the help of biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan, Sabalenka quickly left her serving woes behind her.
Since then, she has flourished, becoming one of the most potent servers on the WTA Tour.
Aryna Sabalenka’s 2026 tournament results
- Brisbane International: Champion
- Australian Open: Runner-up
- Indian Wells: Champion
- Miami Open: Champion
Aryna Sabalenka said she wanted to dominate like Serena Williams
In a 2024 interview with Arab News, Sabalenka revealed her desire to strengthen her grip on the WTA Tour.
Serena dominated for large portions of her career, winning 23 Grand Slam singles titles in the process.
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Iga Swiatek has also demonstrated dominance during her career, as showcased by her 37-match win streak to start the 2022 WTA season – the longest on the WTA Tour in the 21st century.
“I always wanted to dominate the tour like Serena [Williams] did one day, like what Iga was able to do for so long,” said Sabalenka.
“And she’s [Swiatek] still close, it’s all going to be decided after this tournament, so who knows?
“But it’s really inspiring and I want to dominate tour like they did. But I’m trying to focus on myself, on improving myself, and make sure that I have all of the tools to dominate the tour as they did.
“Being a leader is tough, but I think it’s a great opportunity to help the sport, to fight for like equal prize money, to show the world and to help countries like where we are [Saudi Arabia] to improve quality of life for women.
“It’s a responsibility, it’s a good opportunity to speak up for women. I like to have this responsibility and I like to represent women’s sport as strong and powerful – women who can fight for their rights.”
