Aryna Sabalenka is in the form of her life.
The Belarusian world number one recently became only the fifth woman to complete the heralded ‘Sunshine Double’ after defeating Coco Gauff in the Miami Open final.
The four-time Grand Slam champion will now turn her attention towards the clay-court swing.
How many Grand Slams will Aryna Sabalenka win this year?
She looks unstoppable right now!
The 27-year-old has proven herself to be an excellent clay-court player over the past few years, winning multiple titles on the surface.
However, Sabalenka still has everything to prove on the clay.
Aryna Sabalenka must prove that she has banished her clay-court woes of 2025
Aryna Sabalenka enjoyed an excellent clay-court campaign last year, winning the Madrid Open and making a final appearance in Stuttgart.
However, her clay-court swing ended with disappointment, as the Belarusian squandered a commanding lead to Coco Gauff in the French Open final.
Simply put, Sabalenka collapsed during the final, as demonstrated by the astonishing 70 unforced errors she struck during the match.
There can be little doubting that Sabalenka is an excellent clay-court player: her results on the surface speak for themselves.
However, with her performance in the 2025 French Open final looming large, the Belarusian must prove that she has left those demons in the past.
Aryna Sabalenka’s 2025 clay-court swing
| Tournament | Result | Opponent |
| Stuttgart Open | Runner-up | Jelena Ostapenko |
| Madrid Open | Champion | Coco Gauff |
| Italian Open | Quarter-finals | Qinwen Zheng |
| French Open | Runner-up | Coco Gauff |
Sabalenka can ill-afford another collapse at the French Open this year, particularly against Coco Gauff – who has been a thorn in Sabalenka’s side throughout her career.
With all this in mind, Sabalenka is entering into a crucial stage of her career – one that could define her legacy.
Who wins more Grand Slams in their career – Elena Rybakina or Aryna Sabalenka?
Aryna Sabalenka’s French Open debut
Sabalenka made her Roland Garros debut at the 2018 event, where she lost in the first round to Czech player Denisa Šátralová.
A year later, Sabalenka recorded her first victory at the event, beating former WTA Finals champion Dominika Cibulkova.
From 2020 to 2022, Sabalenka made three consecutive third-round appearances in Paris, before reaching the semi-finals in 2023.
A quarter-final appearance followed in 2024, and a year later, she made her debut in the championship showpiece.
The Belarusian will hope to go one step further this year and lift the French Open title for the first time.
However, this will be easier said than done. Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina will also contend for the title, as will strong clay-court players like Mirra Andreeva and Jasmine Paolini – both of whom have reached the latter stages before.
