admin Aryna Sabalenka, 25, has already had a dream come true at this year’s US Open: When first-seeded Iga Swiatek lost to Jelena Ostapenko on Sunday, Sabalenka, of Belarus, became the new number one player in the world—but she’s not done yet. Today at noon, she plays 20-year-old Qinwen Zheng, who’s been riding her own wave in the tournament, most recently upsetting fifth seed Ons Jabeur, with the winner going on to the semifinals. Still, for Sabalenka—the reigning Australian Open champion, who plays take-no-prisoners, heart-on-your-sleeve tennis, with all the accompanying glory or heartbreak—even that won’t be enough: She wants to win this thing. We sat down with her for a rare mid-tournament chat before her quarterfinal match.
Vogue: We’re at this tricky time in the Open now, the midpoint. Do you approach the second week of a major differently than the first week? Is it a different mental thing?
Aryna Sabalenka: I wouldn’t say that it’s a different mental thing, but definitely when you’re going into the second week, you’re fired up—it’s like you’re counting down, and you’re trying to bring your best tennis and just fight for it.
And how does becoming the number one player in the world midway through the tournament change any of that? Obviously, that’s a wonderful thing—but does it create more complications? Would it have been better for you if you would’ve learned about this in a week, when the tournament’s over?
Honestly, I’m super excited to be world number one, but it’s not changing anything. It’s not like things will be easier for me right now—probably, yes, it would be better for me to learn this next week, not in the middle of the tournament (laughing)—but yeah, it is how it is. Of course I’m super excited and super happy to achieve this goal.
What happens when you suddenly become the number one player in the world—do you get a bunch of shout-outs from fellow players, that kind of thing?
Yeah—Novak messaged me saying, “Smile if you’re going to be world number one soon,” and sent this funny picture of the two of us. A lot of players messaged me—a lot of people.
Did you have that kind of moment when you were a kid hitting a tennis ball against a wall, or just starting out, when you first had the dream of, you know, One day, I’ll be world number one? Was that a thing?
