fcielitecompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com, femcompetitior.com, grapplingstars.com, fciwomenswrestling.com Andrew-Makedonski-Shutterstock-photo-credit-Editorial-use-.
January 30, 2023,
When it was all over and the dust had settled on the cushioned acrylic hard courts, a female champion raised the trophy at the 2023 Australian Open.
Ranked number 5 in the world, Belarus star Aryna Sabalenka pounded and served her way to final victory few at the beginning of the tournament expected.
As reported by ESPN, “Sabalenka, a 24-year-old from Belarus, who won her first Grand Slam title by coming back to beat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at Melbourne Park on Saturday night, using 17 aces among her 51 total winners to overcome seven double faults.”
It was a big hitting match between two stars who can hit a tennis ball as hard and fast as anyone in the women’s game.
In watching the match, from our view, it was Aryna’s blistering serves that was the major difference. Both elite athletes demonstrated powerful ground strokes, resolve, grit and swiftness but in the end it was Ms. Sabalenka’s serve that saved Aryna when her ground game went awry.
Serena Williams did this to perfection.
Imitation is the highest form of flattery and success.
No need to re-invent the wheel.
Before the tournament began, many eyes, including ours, was on the world’s number 3 ranked player in America’s Jessica Pegula.
Jessica can consistently hit ground strokes with the best of them but when her ground game is even slightly off, she has no aces to save her.
That proved fatal when she fell to Victoria Azarenka in the quarter finals.
If Jessica can’t develop a serve, blistering with aces, we sense she may never raise that Grand Slam championship trophy.
She has made it to a Grand Slam quarter final five times but no further.
Aryna has now gone as far as you can go Down Under.
Aryna has been ranked as high as world No. 2 in singles and world No. 1 in doubles by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
Sabalenka was relatively unknown until 2017 when she rose to prominence by leading the Belarus Fed Cup team to a runner-up finish with Aliaksandra Sasnovich, despite both of them being ranked outside the top 75 at the time.
Following the 2017 Fed Cup, she began having more success on the WTA Tour, reaching four finals in 2018 and achieving eight top ten victories.
Our luminary has won one major singles title, at this year’s 2023 Australian Open, and two major doubles titles, at the 2019 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open, both partnering with Elise Mertens.
She has won 18 career titles in total, twelve in singles and six in doubles.
Very impressive. When her window of opportunity opened to climb through, she did. This was clearly the tournament to do it.
Serena, Naomi Osaka and last year’s champion Ash Barty were not here. Still, in her march to glory Aryna was very impressive in defeating who was here. To some degree, that should be expected, since she is ranked number 5 in the world.
This year’s Australian Open was shrouded in mystery once the world’s number one, and once red hottest player, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, went down in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, in the fourth round to Aryna’s finalist opponent, Elena Rybakina.
Then the tournament appeared wide open.
The future of women’s professional tennis is wide open as well.
Who are the favorites to dominate?
There is no heir apparent to Serena’s throne.
Someone often surprises and emerges.
Will the future be that of, one hit wonders, who shine brightly for one major hard court tournament and then fade back into the pack?
America’s Sloane Stephens won the mighty 2017 US OPEN in powerful fashion and hasn’t been near a Grand Slam hard court final since. She is currently ranked number 36 in the world.
Fellow American Madison Keys, who was her opponent in the 2017 US OPEN finals afterwards surged into the 2022 Australian Open semi-finals but to this date is yet to win a major title.
The expectations of Madison have been high for so long and yet she can’t seem to break through and win a major.
Here at the 2023 Aussie Open she meekly went down to Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 2-6, 1-6.
Then there is Bianca.
Bianca Andreescu is a Canadian-Romanian star.
She has a career-high ranking of No. 4 in the world, and is the highest-ranked Canadian in the history of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
Bianca was the champion at the 2019 US Open and the Canadian Open in 2019, defeating Serena Williams to win both titles.
She can definitely go toe to toe with the game’s biggest stars and yet, after that massive victory, Bianca has yet to get past the 2nd round at the three other Grand Slams.
Will she win another Grand Slam on the hard courts? 2019 seems a long time ago.
She is currently ranked number 46 in the world.
We could go down an extensive list of recent former champions on the Grand Slam hard courts.
Briefly.
Leylah Fernandez was a 2022 US Open finalist. She is currently ranked number 77. Here at the 2023 Australian Open, she exited in the second round.
Emma Raducanu hoisted the 2022 US Open trophy. Here, she exited in the 2nd round and is currently ranked number 77 in the world.
Sofia Kenin won the 2020 Australian Open. She is currently ranked number 203 in the world.
We think you get the point.
Respectfully speaking, thus far, some are one hit wonders.
Except for Iga Swiatek, who do you see on the horizon as a consistent Grand Slam winner?
We don’t see anyone.
These are very unique times in professional women’s tennis on the Grand Slam hard courts.
It is starting to appear like a revolving door on the championship podium. Who wins this year’s 2023 US Open is anyone’s guess.
All of that is okay but it doesn’t bode well for ratings, if that matters.
When Serena Williams won her first two matches at the 2022 US Open, the ratings soared through the roof, celebrities were in the audience and there was electricity in the air.
Once she exited, it was as though someone pulled the plug.
How excited were you about this year’s Australian Open?
It was intriguing, and Jessica Pegula was the early story, but to say there was electricity in the air would be a great exaggeration.
Every industry needs stars.
While the 2023 Australian Open, now finished, was enjoyable to watch and filled with mystery, based upon recent one hit wonders, we are not sure where the future Grand Slams, on hard courts, will find electric super stars.
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OPENING PHOTO Andrew-Makedonski-Shutterstock-photo-credit-Editorial-use-. fcielitecompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com, femcompetitior.com, grapplingstars.com, fciwomenswrestling.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryna_Sabalenka
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bianca_Andreescu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leylah_Fernandez
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Raducanu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia_Kenin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Anisimova
https://www.fciwomenswrestling2.com
https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
