After Losing No.1 Ranking, Sabalenka Says: 'Not the Pressure of No.100, I'm Looking for Freshness in Beijing'

At Beijing's National Tennis Center on Wednesday evening, after finishing practice, Aryna Sabalenka faced the media. There was no resentment in her voice. Instead, there was a kind of cool, measured self-assurance. The first sentence from the four-time Grand Slam champion from Belarus was, 'This time I really feel fresh.' For Sabalenka, whose body and mind had eroded over the past few seasons, the word 'fresh' is not merely a declaration of physical well-being; it marks the beginning of a tactical restructuring. Last month, Sabalenka lost the world No.1 ranking after falling to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in the US Open final. She had spent 99 weeks at the top of women's tennis. Even after that streak ended, she made it clear she has no anxiety about the ranking. 'I don't know why, but right now I feel much lighter,' said the 28-year-old Sabalenka. 'Maybe I haven't played that many matches in recent months. But that has given me this rest.' This year, Sabalenka has not won a single title. Her last came in March. For the first time since 2026, she will finish a year without a Grand Slam title. Hearing such statistics might suggest her year has been a failure. But anyone watching her practice session in Beijing would never say she has lost form. Instead, her serve, forehand, and net approach displayed a new kind of patience. Speaking with the media, Sabalenka admitted that in the middle part of the season she suffered both mentally and physically. 'The middle stretch didn't go well. I struggled with different things. But at the US Open I started enjoying tennis again,' she said. 'Being healthy mentally and physically helped me rediscover that joy.' This idea of 'rediscovering joy' is often undervalued in the world of sports. Especially in a sport like tennis, an individual discipline where you stand alone on the court, mental well-being directly affects performance. In Sabalenka's case, this is even more apparent. Last year, she withdrew from the Beijing tournament due to injury. This year she enters as the second seed. In the round of 64, she will face either Hungary's Anna Bondar or Mexico's Renata Zarazua. Top seed Rybakina will play the winner between Ukraine's Yulia Starodubtseva and Armenia's Alina Charaeva. Last year's champion Amanda Anisimova will miss the tournament after ending her season early due to a wrist injury. If we examine these statistics separately, a fundamental question arises. To what extent is the ranking system in tennis a reliable indicator of a player's true ability? Sabalenka spent 99 weeks at the top. Rybakina now occupies her place. But does this handover truly mean Rybakina is now a better player than Sabalenka? My years of observing tennis suggest that rankings are often just a mathematical calculation of performance over a specific period. It does not paint the full picture of a player's overall skill. When I was hosting a daily show at the 2026 World Cup in Russia, I noticed something midway through the tournament—big stars often start slowly in the group stage but return in a completely different mood in the knockouts. The same happens in tennis. Sabalenka reaching the US Open final is itself a statement. She lost the final, but on her way there she defeated the tournament's top seeds. One workout at her Beijing practice session revealed why she used the word 'fresh.' She spent about 45 minutes doing only baseline forehand drills. Then 20 minutes of net-approach simulations. Finally, 10 minutes of serve practice alone. Watching this detailed routine suggested she is still reinforcing the very foundation of her game. Not the pressure of ranking—returning to her own form is now her main goal. Currently in women's tennis, there are many such stories of rebuilding. Injuries, mental fatigue, ranking pressure—all combine to create ups and downs in a player's career. But what is less often seen is how a player reacts when they lose the top spot. Some complain, some go on the defensive. Sabalenka did neither. Instead, she said, 'I know what I need to work on in my game. That's what I'm doing now.' Why does this mentality matter? Because in tennis, not just skill but consistency is a major factor. Spending 99 weeks at the top means winning against the world's best for 99 weeks. That period is mentally extremely tough for a player. Sabalenka's words acknowledge this—'I was tired. Now I'm resting.' But here a two-sided question arises. Is this 'rest' tactical or forced? Sabalenka has not won a title this year. Watching her play, it seems she is trying to blend patience with her power game. But in tennis, this transition takes time. After losing ranking points, her big challenge now is not regaining the top spot, but redefining her game. Over recent years in women's tennis, we have seen that reclaiming the top spot is very difficult. Since Serena Williams, no player has been able to dominate for long. Someone rises to the top, stays for a few months, then the position changes hands. In this reality, Sabalenka is actually part of a new history—a player who was at the top, then dropped, but has not crumbled mentally. Her matches in Beijing begin in a few days. But this press conference was a message for tennis fans. The message is that ranking is not a player's identity. Sabalenka is trying to rediscover that identity, starting from the baseline. My years of watching and analyzing sports tell me that the biggest match in any player's career never happens on court. It happens inside their mentality. Sabalenka is now playing that match. Not in front of thousands in Beijing, but in quiet practice sessions. The question is, can she do it? Time will answer. But the determination in her eyes at that Wednesday press conference suggests she has not lost this battle. She is just resting.