Aryna Sabalenka could recreate history against Qinwen Zheng in the final of the 2024 Australian Open. She has a golden opportunity to emulate Belarus’s greatest women’s player to date, Victoria Azarenka, as an interesting coincidence between the two has come up.
2023 Australian Open champion Sabalenka blazed through the field this year, reaching the final without dropping a set. She is a favourite to crown her ruthless run with a championship victory against Zheng and successfully defend the title.
If she does so, Sabalenka would become the first woman since her compatriot Azarenka to defend her Australian Open singles title. The latter lifted the Grand Slam Down Under in 2012 and 2013. After her first triumph, she ascended to the World No.1 rank. Sabalenka also achieved the same distinction after her Australian Open title last year.
Additionally, a great coincidence would be that both Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka beat a Chinese opponent to defend their title. The latter defeated Li Na in the 2013 Australian Open final to bag her second trophy in Melbourne on the trot. Sabalenka’s final hurdle is Zheng, also Chinese. Additionally, like the World No.2 faced Coco Gauff in the semi-finals en route to her title defence, Azarenka also faced an American in the semis during her second title campaign, beating Sloane Stephens.
After a decade, Belarus has seemingly found a successor to Azarenka. If Sabalenka wins, it would be a great advertisement for tennis in the Eastern European nation. The last two women to win two consecutive Australian Open championships and defend their titles would both be from Belarus. Jennifer Capriati (2001 and 2002) and Serena Williams (2009 and 2010) are the only other WTA stars to achieve this feat since the year 2000.
Victoria Azarenka remains top-tier player after comeback even as Aryna Sabalenka dominates Australian Open
Despite peaking over a decade ago, Azarenka continues to hold her own on the WTA Tour even at 34. She was the Year-End No.1 in 2012, but a pregnancy hiatus and a loss of form upon return saw her fall outside the top 200. However, she gradually made her way back up the charts and reached the final of the 2020 US Open but fell to Naomi Osaka. After a brief lull, she finds herself World No.22 in 2024.
Victoria Azarenka made it to the fourth round of the 2024 Australian Open. She upset Jelena Ostapenko in the third round before giant-killer Dayana Yastremska ended her journey in the next stage. She remains a force to reckon with despite Sabalenka taking over the crown as their nation’s No.1. Interestingly, the younger Belarusian recently defeated Azarenka in the semi-finals of the 2024 Brisbane International.
Aryna Sabalenka, meanwhile, stormed into the final without dropping a set. She has bested the likes of Coco Gauff and Barbora Krejcikova, leaving a trail of destruction. Up against Qinwen Zheng in the final, she is one win away from emulating Azarenka.
Even if Sabalenka comes out on top, there could be a silver lining for Zheng. Her senior compatriot Li Na lost the 2013 Australian Open final, allowing Azarenka to defend her title, but followed it up with a title triumph of her own in 2014. With so many coincidences between Azarenka’s 2013 title defence and Sabalenka’s current campaign, Zheng would fancy some history going her way as well.
