Aryna Sabalenka is looking forward to having a ‘target on my back’ as she prepares for a crucial tournament in Cincinnati.
It hasn’t been the most pleasant of seasons for Aryna Sabalenka after what was a promising start to the 2026 season.
The world number one began her year by reaching the final of the Australian Open before winning the sunshine double.
At that point it was a case of how many trophies Sabalenka was going to win as she looked destined to achieve her Parisian and London dreams.
However, the manner of her defeats have left her character questioned as she has not won a trophy since March.
This has left severe questions heading into her US Open title defence next month as she will aim to win a third consecutive title in New York.
Those concerns aren’t share by Sabalenka who is embracing the current pressure that she faces, “You can look at this like you’re defending something, but to be honest, you have the target on your back,” Sabalenka explained.
“Everyone wants to be beat you, but I feel it’s the same if you’re No. 1, No. 2, No. 10. It doesn’t really matter what’s the ranking anyway when you go out there on the court, everyone want’s to beat you. I love having the target on my back. I like to see young generation looking up to me and get inspired by me, but I also fee they will get inspired if I drop in the ranking a little bit.
“Hopefully it will never happen. As long as I focus on developing myself as a player and a person, ranking doesn’t really matter.”
Sabalenka will begin her campaign on Sunday in Cincinnati against Talia Gibson.
