Aryna Sabalenka has endured a bemusing 2026 campaign so far, which has featured very impressive highs and incredibly worrying lows.
Sabalenka looked at her dominant best as she swept to the Sunshine Double in March and she looked impressive in Australia too, as she reached the final of the Grand Slam and won the Brisbane International.
However, the world No 1 has also suffered many humbling defeats and a variety of very surprising early exits from major tournaments, which is out of character for Sabalenka.
She was beaten in the round of 32 at the Italian Open and the round of 16 at Wimbledon, and she has not reached the final of a tournament since the Miami Open in March.
There have been many questions around the reason for Sabalenka’s poor form in 2026 and legendary tennis coach Rick Macci believes he has the answer.
More Aryna Sabalenka news
Speaking on X, Serena Williams’ former coach said: “Sabalenka is playing different than in the past. She is farther behind the baseline. She is on the back foot more.
“She is bailing out of the crosscourt lasers sooner than normal. Mentally her confidence has been tested and as a result the unreal belief we saw before is out the door. She has always been emotional but could regroup in 20 seconds.
“She can flip the switch but the ripple now is other players see she is hitting long and into the net and they feel they can pull the upset.”
Sabalenka has suffered seven defeats already this season, but only two of the players have been ranked inside the WTA Tour top 10.
Players to defeat Aryna Sabalenka in 2026
- Elena Rybakina
- Jessica Pegula
- Ekaterina Alexandrova
- Naomi Osaka
- Diana Shnaider
- Sorana Cirstea
- Hailey Baptiste
Only Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina from the top 10 of the rankings have picked up a victory against the world No 1.
Ekaterina Alexandrova, Naomi Osaka, Diana Shnaider, Sorana Cirstea, and Hailey Baptiste have all been able to beat Sabalenka this year while ranked outside the top 10.
What is starting to be a worry for Sabalenka too, is she is losing her grip at the top of the WTA Tour.
There are currently 789 ranking points between Rybakina and Sabalenka, but that could be cut down dramatically if the Kazakhstani star wins the Canadian Open.
Should Rybakina lift the trophy in Toronto, there will be just four ranking points between the top-ranked players in the world.
With the Cincinnati Open and the US Open coming up fast, Sabalenka will need to find some real form in order to keep her place at the top of the WTA Tour.
