Aryna Sabalenka was announced as the WTA Player of the Year on Tuesday, taking the crown for the first time in her career after a sensational 2024 campaign. Former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek boasted the honour in 2022 and 2023, but an interrupted 2024 season has seen the Polish star relinquish the top spot in the singles rankings – a perch she held for 125 weeks.
Aryna Sabalenka claimed her maiden WTA Player of the Year crown on Tuesday, capping off a remarkable 2024 campaign which culminated with the 26-year-old sitting atop the singles rankings.
The three-time Grand Slam winner finally ousted Iga Swiatek as world No. 1 and Player of the Year – an honour which the Pole boasted in 2022 and 2023 following a dominant spell at the summit of the women’s game.
The pair had closely jostled at the top of the women’s rankings for some time. Sabalenka rose to No. 1 in September 2023, before Swiatek claimed back the top spot with her WTA Finals triumph and an imperious run of 11 victories to close out the season.
The battle continued in 2024, and Sabalenka eventually regained her perch at the summit in the final weeks of the season – a spot she will occupy at least until the end of the Australian Open, as she defends her title in Melbourne, live on Eurosport and discovery+.
We take a look at their epic battle throughout the 2024 campaign, and how Sabalenka asserted her dominance as the new world’s best.
SABALENKA V SWIATEK: 2024 CAMPAIGN
Sabalenka kicked off 2024 in just about the perfect manner, producing a stunning run at the Australian Open to defend her title without dropping a set – nor a single game on her serve.
Swiatek – meanwhile – was ousted in the last 32 by Linda Noskova, a defeat which the former world No. 1 would avenge three times throughout the campaign.
And it was Sabalenka’s imperious form in 2024’s major tournaments which ultimately saw her replace Swiatek at the top of the pecking order – despite winning fewer all-around titles and matches across the season.
Swiatek successfully defended her Roland Garros crown in June as Sabalenka crashed out at the quarter-final stage – in the end, making up points due to Swiatek’s early Melbourne exit.
But Sabalenka’s feat was made even more impressive by the fact she was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon due to injury. Swiatek, meanwhile, once again found herself tumbling out in the last 32 at the hands of Yulia Putintseva.
“I feel like on grass I need a little bit more of that energy to keep being patient and accept some mistakes,” Swiatek said after her exit. “Like mentally, I didn’t really do that well in this tournament. I need to recover better after clay court season, both physically and mentally.”
And it was to be the US Open in which Sabalenka established 2024 as her best-ever campaign, taking her maiden title in New York as Swiatek uncharacteristically fell in straight sets to an inspired Jessica Pegula – who Sabalenka dismissed with relative ease in a straight-set victorious final.
Player Titles won Match wins Win%
Sabalenka 4 56 80
Swiatek 5 64 87.7
But while Grand Slam success was hard to come by for five-time major winner Swiatek, she still recorded more title victories than any other player on the WTA scene, capturing titles in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, and Rome, alongside her Roland Garros triumph.
Sabalenka, meanwhile, took four titles – with her two Slam victories supplemented by Cincinnati and Wuhan crowns.
Swiatek also added an Olympic bronze medal to her list of 2024 honours, after falling in straight sets to Qinwen Zheng in the semi-final but beating Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the battle for third.
