Aryna Sabalenka confirmed as WTA year-end world number one for 2024
For the first time in her career, the 2024 Australian Open and US Open champion is ending the tennis season as the best player in the world.
Tennis
Aryna Sabalenka is confirmed as the year-end world number one in women’s tennis for 2024.
After a dominant year on the WTA Tour, where the 26-year-old won four singles titles, two of them Grand Slams, Sabalenka sealed her spot as the best women’s tennis player in the world this year on Tuesday (5 November).
Having won her opening two group matches at the WTA Tour Finals Riyadh, her accolade was confirmed when world number two Iga Swiatek was defeated by third-ranked Coco Gauff at the same stage of the tournament.
Sabalenka reached world number one for the first time in September 2023, and having tassled for the top spot with Swiatek all year, returned to the top in the final three weeks to assert her place on the tennis throne.
In 2024, Sabalenka won the Australian Open for the second time in her career without dropping a set, before completing the Grand Slam hard court double by taking her maiden US Open title.
Sabalenka also clinched two WTA 1000 tournaments, where she prevailed in the Cincinnati Open in August and the Wuhan Open in October.