the one of Arina Sabalenka She wasn’t a name that caught the eye on the junior women’s tennis circuit, but her integration into the professional circuit happened in record time and today she is one of the youngest players in the top ten rankings. WTA. He has yet to win a Grand Slam, but in this one Australian Open 2023 arrives as a favorite in the final of the event.

The 24-year-old tennis player is piling up 10 wins in 10 games in the 2023 season and still without losing a set: first established at Adelaide WTA 500 and now it’s on Melbourne Tournament Finalin which she started as the fifth sport and will have to face Elena Rybakina in the definition.

Although she has already won two Grand Slams in doubles, at the 2019 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open, and was ranked No. 1 in the doubles world when partnering Elise Mertens, Aryna is currently facing her big break in singles, playing better tennis than ever.

A year ago Sabalenka seemed in trouble: after winning four WTA 1000 tournaments between 2018 and 2021 plus the 2019 WTA Elite Trophy and reaching Wimbledon and US Open semi-finals in 2021his serve seemed to complicate it and without a way out.

The Belarusian piled up 39 double faults in the two tournaments leading up to the 2022 Australian Open and was eliminated by them in the first round, while in the Grand Slam he reached the 16 but with 56 double faults in four games.

The serve problems remained and Sabalenka did not improve her results until she reached the final of the classic tournament in Stuttgart in late April.

By the 2022 US Open, Sabalenka had already started to improve and was a semi-finalist again, while the year ended as runner-up at the WTA Finals and for the third consecutive year in the top ten of the ranking.

Sabalenka did not completely leave her service problems in the past, but greatly improved her service after working with experts, including a biomechanics expert, and with his right, perhaps the strongest in the entire WTAhe is a danger to every opponent, but also playing a little more cerebral tennis than before in which he essentially sought to win every point from the speed he gave the ball.

Without the presence of his flagBecause of ban by the Belarusian tennis federation Barred from representing because of her country’s government relationship with Russia amid the war with Ukraine, Aryna will look to emulate compatriot Victoria Azarenka, the 2012 and 2013 Australian Open champion.

More | Who is Elena Rybakina, the ‘Russian’ who avoided a ban, won Wimbledon and is an Australian Open finalist?

Who was the last Australian Open champion without dropping a set?

At the last Australian Open, the champion did not drop a set: it was Ashleigh Barty, who won 14 straight sets and played only one tiebreak in the final against Danielle Collins.

Intriguingly, 2021 champion Naomi Osaka dropped a single set against Garbiñe Muguruza in the round of 16. The previous Australian Open champion without dropping a set was Serena Williams in 2017.