Aryna Sabalenka started her Cincinnati Open campaign off with a confident straight sets victory against Talia Gibson.
Sabalenka won 6-2, 7-6 to bounce back from her early exit at the Canadian Open, where she was beaten by Ekaterina Alexandrova in the fourth round.
The star is looking to keep hold of her world No 1 status at the Cincinnati Open, as there are just 529 ranking points splitting her and Elena Rybakina on the WTA Tour currently.
Sabalenka has had a far from vintage year on the WTA Tour, particularly during the clay court and grass court swing, and she hasn’t won a title since the Miami Open in March.
Speaking about her challenges in 2026 so far this season, Sabalenka explained what she’s done to combat them in an interview with The Tennis Channel.
More Aryna Sabalenka news
“If I see my team start criticizing me too harshly, I think we’d end up in a big fight, and it wouldn’t be a good fight. Every player receives information differently,” she said about communication with coaches Anton Dubrov, Jason Stacy and Max Mirnyi.
“Early in my career, I was heavily criticized and grew up in that environment, but today we like to talk about what’s happening, put it into perspective, and make adjustments.
“In tough times, we get closer, have fun, have barbecues, and try to relax a bit because there’s a lot of pressure. I feel like my recipe for overcoming these big challenges is through conversation and having fun.”
Sabalenka will next play Wang Xinyu in the third round of the Cincinnati Open, for just their second match on the WTA Tour and the first since 2022.
Their last meeting came at the 2022 Australian Open, which Sabalenka won in three sets after losing the first set.
Sabalenka currently sits 40 places above Wang in the WTA Tour rankings, as the Chinese star is the currently world No 41.
The winner between Sabalenka and Wang will await the winner of Sara Bejlek and Alexandrova, as seeds Barbora Krejčíková and Donna Vekic have already fallen out of the world No 1’s section.
Sabalenka’s most likely opponent in the quarter finals looks set to be Elina Svitolina if she reached the last eight, while Coco Gauff looks the most likely to play the world No 1 in the semi finals.
Rybakina could be Sabalenka’s final if they both get there, which would make their battle for the world No 1 spot mightily interesting.
Sabalenka has held the top spot on the WTA Tour for the past two seasons, but this is the closest she has come to losing her world No 1 status.
