2023 Aryna Sabalenka tennis season explained

Fullname:	Aryna Sabalenka
Singlestitles:	3
Calendarprizemoney:	$8,202,653
Currentsinglesranking:	No. 2
Australianopenresult:	W
Frenchopenresult:	SF
Wimbledonresult:	SF
Usopenresult:	F
Wtachampionshipsresult:	SF
Doublestitles:	0
Updated:	11 September 2023
Next Season:	2024

The 2023 Aryna Sabalenka tennis season officially began on 4 January 2023 with the start of the Adelaide International.^[1]

During this season, Sabalenka:

Won her first major title at the Australian Open.^[2]
Clinched the singles No.1 ranking for the first time in her career.^[3]

Yearly summary

Early hard court season

Sabalenka entered Adelaide 1 as the second seed. She reached her first final of the season by defeating Liudmila Samsonova,^[1] Markéta Vondroušová, Irina-Camelia Begu en route.^[4] Then, she defeated Czech teenage qualifier Linda Nosková to win her first title since Madrid 2021 and her 11th career title without dropping a set all week.^[5]

Sabalenka entered the Australian Open as the fifth seed. She defeated Tereza Martincová, Shelby Rogers, former doubles partner and 26th seed Elise Mertens,^[6] and the previous week's Adelaide 2 champion and world no. 10 Belinda Bencic^[7] to reach her first-ever Australian Open quarterfinal. She then beat Donna Vekić to reached her fourth Grand Slam semifinal,^[8] and won her tenth consecutive match by beating Magda Linette to make her first ever major final.^[9] ^[10] In the final, she defeated reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in three sets to win her first major title.^[11] ^[12] She became the second Belarusian to ever win a major singles title, and the first since Victoria Azarenka, a decade ago.^[13] ^[14] ^[15] ^[16] After winning the title in Melbourne, Sabalenka rose back to No. 2 in the WTA rankings.

In Dubai, Sabalenka defeated Lauren Davis^[17] and Jeļena Ostapenko to reach the quarterfinals, where she fell to the eventual champion Barbora Krejčíková in three sets.^[18] She then participated in Indian Wells, where she defeated Evgeniya Rodina^[19] and took revenge from Barbora Krejčíková for her last defeat in three sets.^[20] Then she beat Coco Gauff^[21] and Maria Sakkari to reach her first Indian Wells final,^[22] where she lost to Elena Rybakina in a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open final.^[23] In Miami, Sabalenka defeated Shelby Rogers, Marie Bouzková, and Barbora Krejčíková each in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals, where she was defeated by Sorana Cîrstea.

Early clay court season

Sabalenka started her clay court season in Stuttgart, where she defeated Barbora Krejčíková, Paula Badosa, and Anastasia Potapova to reach her fourth final of the year. In the final, which was a rematch of last year's final, she was defeated by world No. 1 Iga Świątek in straight sets for the second consecutive year. In Madrid, Sabalenka reached her second final at this tournament, defeating Sorana Cîrstea, Camila Osorio, Mirra Andreeva, Mayar Sherif, and Maria Sakkari, dropping just one set en route to the final. In the final, she would once again face Iga Świątek, and would win her third title of the year in three sets.

In Rome, Sabalenka would suffer her first early defeat of the year, losing in straight sets to former Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin. At the French Open, she would reach the semifinals without dropping a set, defeating Marta Kostyuk, Iryna Shymanovich, Kamilla Rakhimova, Sloane Stephens, and Elina Svitolina. In the semifinals, she would face Karolína Muchová. Sabalenka lost this match in three sets, despite leading 5–2 and holding match point.^[24]

Grass court season

Sabalenka began her grass court season in Berlin, defeating Vera Zvonareva before losing to Veronika Kudermetova. Sabalenka next competed at Wimbledon, where she would reach her fourth straight major semifinal. Sabalenka defeated Panna Udvardy, Varvara Gracheva, Anna Blinkova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, and Madison Keys, before losing to Ons Jabeur, despite leading by a set and a break.

North American hard court season

Her next tournament would be Montréal, where she would defeat Petra Martić, before losing in three sets to eventual runner-up Liudmila Samsonova. She next reached the semifinals in Cincinnati, defeating Ann Li, Daria Kasatkina, and Ons Jabeur, before falling once again in three sets to Karolína Muchová.

At the US Open, Sabalenka would reach the semifinals by defeating Maryna Zanevska, Jodie Burrage, Clara Burel, Daria Kasatkina, and Zheng Qinwen in straight sets, dropping just 21 games in all five matches. Following these wins, Sabalenka became the first player since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events in one year. She faced Madison Keys in the semifinals, recovering from a set and break deficit and serving to stay in the match four times in the final two sets. In her second major final of the year, Sabalenka faced Coco Gauff, and would lose in three sets. Due to the loss of world No. 1 Iga Świątek in the fourth round, Sabalenka became the world No. 1 tennis player at the conclusion of the tournament. Sabalenka became the 29th player to be ranked No. 1 in the world on the WTA Tour, and the second Belarusian, after Victoria Azarenka. She was also just the eighth female player to have been ranked No. 1 in the Open Era in both singles and doubles at some point in their careers.^[25] With Sabalenka reaching the final, she became the first woman since Serena Williams to reach the semifinals or better at all four majors in a season since 2016.^[26]

All matches

Singles matches

Match	Round	Opponent	Rank	Result	Score
–	1R	Bye
1	2R	Liudmila Samsonova	20	Win	7–6^(10–8), 7–6^(7–3)
2	QF		92	Win	6–3, 7–5
3	SF	Irina-Camelia Begu	34	Win	6–3, 6–2
4	W		102	Win	6–3, 7–6^(7–4)
5	1R	Tereza Martincová	74	Win	6–1, 6–4
6	2R	Shelby Rogers	51	Win	6–3, 6–1
7	3R		32	Win	6–2, 6–3
8	4R		10	Win	7–5, 6–2
9	QF	Donna Vekić	64	Win	6–3, 6–2
10	SF	Magda Linette	45	Win	7–6^(7–1), 6–2
11	W		25	Win	3–6, 6–3, 6–4
–	1R	Bye
12	2R		49	Win	6–0, 6–1
13	3R		20	Win	2–6, 6–1, 6–1
14	QF	Barbora Krejčíková	30	Loss	6–0, 6–7^(2–7), 1–6
–	1R	Bye
15	2R		427	Win	6–2, 6–0
–	3R		95	Walkover
16	4R		16	Win	6–3, 2–6, 6–4
17	QF		6	Win	6–4, 6–0
18	SF		7	Win	6–2, 6–3
19	F		10	Loss	6–7^(11–13), 4–6
–	1R	Bye
20	2R	Shelby Rogers	42	Win	6–4, 6–3
21	3R		36	Win	6–1, 6–2
22	4R		13	Win	6–3, 6–2
23	QF	Sorana Cîrstea	74	Loss	4–6, 4–6
–	1R	Bye
24	2R	Barbora Krejčíková	12	Win	6–2, 6–3
25	QF		31	Win	4–6, 6–4, 6–4
26	SF	Anastasia Potapova	24	Win	6–1, 6–2
27	F		1	Loss	3–6, 4–6
–	1R	Bye
28	2R	Sorana Cîrstea	44	Win	6–3, 6–4
29	3R		115	Win	6–4, 7–5
30	4R		194	Win	6–3, 6–1
31	QF	Mayar Sherif	59	Win	2–6, 6–2, 6–1
32	SF		9	Win	6–4, 6–1
33	W		1	Win	6–3, 3–6, 6–3
–	1R	Bye
34	2R		134	Loss	6–7^(4–7), 2–6
35	1R	Marta Kostyuk	39	Win	6–3, 6–2
36	2R		214	Win	7–5, 6–2
37	3R	Kamilla Rakhimova	82	Win	6–2, 6–2
38	4R	Sloane Stephens	30	Win	7–6^(7–5), 6–4
39	QF		192	Win	6–4, 6–4
40	SF	Karolína Muchová	43	Loss	6–7^(5–7), 7–6^(9–7), 5–7
41	1R		1243	Win	6–3, 6–2
42	2R		13	Loss	2–6, 6–7^(2–7)
43	1R	Panna Udvardy	82	Win	6–1, 6–3
44	2R	Varvara Gracheva	41	Win	2–6, 7–5, 6–2
45	3R	Anna Blinkova	40	Win	6–2, 6–3
46	4R		22	Win	6–4, 6–0
47	QF		18	Win	6–2, 6–4
48	SF		6	Loss	7–6^(7–5), 4–6, 3–6
–	1R	Bye
49	2R	Petra Martić	35	Win	6–3, 7–6^(7–5)
50	3R		18	Loss	6–7^(2–7), 6–4, 3–6
–	1R	Bye
51	2R		192	Win	7–5, 2–6, 6–4
52	3R		13	Win	6–3, 6–3
53	QF		5	Win	7–5, 6–3
54	SF	Karolína Muchová	17	Loss	7–6^(7–4), 3–6, 2–6
55	1R	Maryna Zanevska	112	Win	6–3, 6–2
56	2R	Jodie Burrage	96	Win	6–3, 6–2
57	3R	Clara Burel	62	Win	6–1, 6–1
58	4R		14	Win	6–1, 6–3
59	QF		23	Win	6–1, 6–4
60	SF		17	Win	0–6, 7–6^(7–1), 7–6^(10–5)
61	F		6	Loss	6–2, 3–6, 2–6
62	1R		31	Win	6–1, 6–2
63	2R		56	Win	7–5, 7–6^(7–2)
64	3R	Jasmine Paolini	36	Win	6–4, 7–6^(7–4)
65	QF		5	Loss	5–7, 2–6
66	RR		9	Win	6–0, 6–1
67	RR		5	Loss	4–6, 3–6
68	RR		4	Win	6–2, 3–6, 6–3
69	SF		2	Loss	3–6, 2–6

Doubles matches

Match	Round	Opponent	Combined Rank	Result	Score
1	1R	Anna Bondár / Oksana Kalashnikova		Win	4–6, 6–4, [10–8]
2	2R		52	Win	4–6, 6–1, [10–5]
3	QF	Cristina Bucșa / Makoto Ninomiya		Win	6–2, 6–2
4	SF		11	Loss	4–6, 6–1, [3–10]

Tournament schedule

Singles schedule

Date	Tournament	Location	Category	Surface	Previous result	Previous points	New points	Outcome
1 January 2023 – 8 January 2023	Adelaide International 1	Australia	WTA 500	Hard	First round	10	500	Winner, defeated Linda Nosková 6–3, 7–6^(7–4)
16 January 2023 – 29 January 2023	Australian Open	Australia	Grand Slam	Hard	Fourth round	240	2000	Winner, defeated Elena Rybakina 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
20 February 2023 – 26 February 2023	Dubai Tennis Championships	United Arab Emirates	WTA 1000	Hard	Second round	55	105	Quarterfinals lost to Barbora Krejčíková 6–0, 6–7^(2–7), 1–6
6 March 2023 – 19 March 2023	Indian Wells Open	United States	WTA 1000	Hard	Second round	10	650	Final lost to Elena Rybakina 6–7^(11–13), 4–6
21 March 2023 – 2 April 2023	Miami Open	United States	WTA 1000	Hard	Second round	10	215	Quarterfinals lost to Sorana Cîrstea 4–6, 4–6
17 April 2023 – 23 April 2023	Stuttgart Open	Germany	WTA 500	Clay (i)	Final	305	305	Final lost to Iga Świątek 3–6, 4–6
24 April 2023 – 7 May 2023	Madrid Open	Spain	WTA 1000	Clay	Second round	10	1000	Winner, defeated Iga Świątek 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
9 May 2023 – 21 May 2023	Italian Open	Italy	WTA 1000	Clay	Semifinals	350	10	Second round lost to Sofia Kenin 6–7^(4–7), 2–6
28 May 2023 – 11 June 2023	French Open	France	Grand Slam	Clay	Third round	130	780	Semifinals lost to Karolína Muchová 6–7^(5–7), 7–6^(7–5), 5–7
19 June 2023 – 25 June 2023	German Open	Germany	WTA 500	Grass	First round	1	55	Second round lost to Veronika Kudermetova 2–6, 6–7^(2–7)
3 July 2022 – 16 July 2022	Wimbledon	United Kingdom	Grand Slam	Grass	Could not participate		780	Semifinals lost to Ons Jabeur 7–6^(7–5), 4–6, 3–6
7 August 2023 – 13 August 2023	Canadian Open	Canada	WTA 1000	Hard	Third round	105	105	Third round lost to Liudmila Samsonova 6–7^(2–7), 6–4, 3–6
13 August 2023 – 20 August 2023	Cincinnati Open	United States	WTA 1000	Hard	Semifinals	350	350	Semifinals lost to Karolína Muchová 7–6(7–4), 3–6, 2–6
28 August 2023 – 4 September 2023	US Open	United States	Grand Slam	Hard	Semifinals	780	1300	Final lost to Coco Gauff 6–2, 3–6, 2–6
30 September 2023 – 8 October 2023	China Open	China	WTA 1000	Hard	Not held	0	215	Quarterfinals lost to Elena Rybakina 5–7, 2–6
29 October 2023 – 5 November 2023	WTA Finals	Mexico	WTA Finals	Hard	Final	955	625	Semifinals lost to Iga Świątek 3–6, 2–6
Total year-end points							9,050

Doubles schedule

Yearly records

Head-to-head match-ups

Sabalenka has a WTA match win–loss record in the 2023 season. Her record against players who were part of the WTA rankings top ten at the time of their meetings is . Bold indicates player was ranked top 10 at the time of at least one meeting. The following list is ordered by number of wins:

Top 10 record

Result	W–L	Opponent	Rank	Tournament	Surface	Rd	Score
Win	1–0	Belinda Bencic	No. 10	Australian Open, Australia	bgcolor=#ccf	Hard	4R	7–5, 6–2	No. 5
Win	2–0	Coco Gauff	No. 6	Indian Wells Open, United States	Hard	QF	6–4, 6–0	bgcolor=thistle	No. 2
Win	3–0	Maria Sakkari	No. 7	Indian Wells Open, United States	Hard	bgcolor=yellow	SF	6–2, 6–3	bgcolor=thistle	No. 2
Loss	3–1	Elena Rybakina	No. 10	Indian Wells Open, United States	Hard	bgcolor=thistle	F	6–7^(11–13), 4–6	bgcolor=thistle	No. 2
Loss	3–2	Iga Świątek	bgcolor=lime	No. 1	Stuttgart Open, Germany	Clay (i)	bgcolor=thistle	F	3–6, 4–6	bgcolor=thistle	No. 2
Win	4–2	Maria Sakkari	No. 9	Madrid Open, Spain	Clay	bgcolor=yellow	SF	6–4, 6–1	bgcolor=thistle	No. 2
Win	5–2	Iga Świątek	bgcolor=lime	No. 1	Madrid Open, Spain	Clay	bgcolor=lime	F	6–3, 3–6, 6–3	bgcolor=thistle	No. 2
Loss	5–3	Ons Jabeur	No. 6	Wimbledon, United Kingdom	Grass	bgcolor=yellow	SF	7–6^(7–5), 4–6, 3–6	bgcolor=thistle	No. 2
Win	6–3	Ons Jabeur	No. 5	Cincinnati Open, United States	Hard	QF	7–5, 6–3	bgcolor=thistle	No. 2
Loss	6–4	Coco Gauff	No. 6	US Open, United States	Hard	bgcolor=thistle	F	6–2, 3–6, 2–6	bgcolor=thistle	No. 2
Loss	6–5	Elena Rybakina	No. 5	China Open, China	Hard	QF	5–7, 2–6	bgcolor=lime	No. 1
Win	7–5	Maria Sakkari	No. 9	bgcolor=#ffc	WTA Finals, Mexico	bgcolor=#ccf	Hard	RR	6–0, 6–1	bgcolor=lime	No. 1
Loss	7–6	Jessica Pegula	No. 5	bgcolor=#ffc	WTA Finals, Mexico	bgcolor=#ccf	Hard	RR	4–6, 3–6	bgcolor=lime	No. 1
Win	8–6	Elena Rybakina	No. 4	bgcolor=#ffc	WTA Finals, Mexico	bgcolor=#ccf	Hard	RR	6–2, 3–6, 6–3	bgcolor=lime	No. 1
Loss	8–7	Iga Świątek	bgcolor=thistle	No. 2	WTA Finals, Mexico	Hard	bgcolor=yellow	SF	3–6, 2–6	bgcolor=lime	No. 1

Finals

Singles: 6 (3 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (1–1)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
WTA Elite Trophy (0–0)
WTA 1000 (1–1)
WTA 500 (1–1)
WTA 250 (0–0)

Finals by surface
Hard (2–2)
Clay (1–1)
Grass (0–0)

Finals by setting
Outdoor (3–2)
Indoor (0–1)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Jan 2023	Adelaide International, Australia	WTA 500	Hard	Linda Nosková	6–3, 7–6^(7–4)
Win	2–0		Australian Open, Australia	Grand Slam	Hard	Elena Rybakina	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss	2–1		Indian Wells Open, United States	WTA 1000	Hard	Elena Rybakina	6–7^(11–13), 4–6
Loss		Apr 2023	Stuttgart Open, Germany	WTA 500	Clay (i)	Iga Świątek	3–6, 4–6
Win	3–2	May 2023	Madrid Open, Spain	WTA 1000	Clay	Iga Świątek	6–3, 3–6, 6–3
Loss	3–3		US Open, United States	Grand Slam	Hard	Coco Gauff	6–2, 3–6, 2–6

Earnings

Bold font denotes tournament win

	Tournament	Singles Prize money	Doubles Prize money	Year-to-date
1.	Adelaide International 1	$120,150	$6,950	$127,100
2.	Australian Open	A$2,975,000	$0	$2,202,162
3.	Dubai Tennis Championships	$63,350	$0	$2,265,512
4.	Indian Wells Open	$662,360	$0	$2,927,872
5.	Miami Open	$184,465	$0	$3,112,337
6.	Stuttgart Open	€64,500	$0	$3,181,600
7.	Madrid Open	€1,105,265	$0	$4,368,360
8.	Italian Open	€12,652	$0	$4,381,945
9.	French Open	€630,000	$0	$5,058,398
10.	German Open	€9,156	$0	$5,068,230
11.	Wimbledon Championships	£600,000	$0	$5,817,363
12.	Canadian Open	$31,650	$0	$5,849,013
13.	Cincinnati Open	$138,000	$0	$5,987,013
14.	US Open	$1,500,000	$0	$7,487,013
Total prize money^[27]		$7,480,063	$6,950	$7,487,013

Figures in United States dollars (USD) unless noted.

Notes and References

Web site: Sabalenka saves seven set points, beats Samsonova in Adelaide 1 . WTA. 4 January 2023. 10 September 2023.
News: BBC News:Australian Open 2023: Aryna Sabalenka beats Elena Rybakina to win Melbourne title . BBC Sport . 30 January 2022.
Web site: Carayol . Tumaini . September 4, 2023 . Iga Swiatek's US Open title defence ended by Jelena Ostapenko . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230905100836/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/sep/04/us-open-2023-results-iga-swiatek-vs-jelena-ostapenko . September 5, 2023 . September 5, 2023 . The Guardian.
Web site: Sabalenka into Adelaide 1 final, faces Czech teen Noskova . Women's Tennis Association.
Web site: Sabalenka stops Noskova for 11th career title at Adelaide 1 . Women's Tennis Association.
Web site: Bencic, Sabalenka set up Round of 16 showdown in Melbourne . 2023-01-26 . Women's Tennis Association.
Web site: Sabalenka tops Bencic, will face Vekic in Australian Open quarterfinals . 2023-01-26 . Women's Tennis Association.
Web site: Three takeaways: Sabalenka into first Australian Open semifinal . 26 January 2023 . Women's Tennis Association.
Web site: Sabalenka defeats Linette to reach first Grand Slam final . 2023-01-26 . Women's Tennis Association.
Web site: How Sabalenka found her inner calm and a new level of success . 2023-01-28 . Women's Tennis Association.
Web site: Sabalenka holds off Rybakina to win Australian Open, first Slam title . 2023-01-28 . Women's Tennis Association.
Web site: 10 incredible things Aryna Sabalenka achieved by winning the Australian Open . Tennis.com.
Web site: 'A joy to watch': Social media reacts to Australian Open final . 28 January 2023 . Women's Tennis Association.
Web site: 'I still feel like I'm on another planet': Sabalenka steps out with Australian Open trophy . 29 January 2023 . Women's Tennis Association.
Web site: Champions Corner: How Aryna Sabalenka learned a new way to fight . 29 January 2023 . Women's Tennis Association.
News: BBC News:Australian Open 2023: Aryna Sabalenka beats Elena Rybakina to win Melbourne title . BBC Sport . 30 January 2022.
Web site: Sabalenka extends run; Pliskova, Krejcikova grab Top 10 wins in Dubai . WTA Tennis. 21 February 2023. 9 September 2023.
Web site: By the numbers: Krejcikova ends Sabalenka's winning streak in Dubai . WTA Tennis. 23 February 2023. 9 September 2023.
Web site: Sabalenka rolls past Rodina into third round of Indian Wells . WTA Tennis. 10 March 2023. 9 September 2023.
Web site: Gauff survives Peterson; Sabalenka outlasts Krejcikova in Indian Wells. WTA Tennis . 14 March 2023. 9 September 2023.
Web site: Sabalenka sweeps past Gauff into Indian Wells semifinals . WTA Tennis. 15 March 2023. 10 September 2023.
Web site: Sabalenka cruises into third final of season at Indian Wells . WTA Tennis. 17 March 2023. 10 September 2023.
Web site: Rybakina tops Sabalenka to win Indian Wells title . WTA Tennis. 19 March 2023. 10 September 2023.
Web site: Muchova topples Sabalenka at French Open; makes first Grand Slam final .
Web site: Shukla . Dr Balraj . 2022-10-01 . 9 players ranked World No. 1 in both singles and doubles ft. Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221208020513/https://www.sportskeeda.com/tennis/9-players-ranked-world-no-1-singles-doubles-ft-martina-navratilova-serena-williams . 8 December 2022 . 2023-09-04 . www.sportskeeda.com .
Web site: Berkok . John . 2023-09-11 . Ranking Reaction: Djokovic and Sabalenka ascend to No. 1, Coco rises to No. 3 . 2023-09-11 . Tennis.com .
Web site: WTA prize money leaders. Women's Tennis Association. 28 August 2023. 28 August 2023.