Aryna Sabalenka Eyes First French Open Title Amid Iga Swiatek's Dominance

Growing up in Minsk, Belarus, Aryna Sabalenka often shared deep conversations about her ambitions with her father, Sergey, a former hockey player who first introduced her to tennis during drives past vacant local courts. Their talks focused less on rankings or immediate results and more on long-term dreams. Sergey hoped that Sabalenka would clinch at least one major title before turning 25.

Reflecting on those early discussions, Sabalenka, now 27, recalled in an interview at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells that her father was a driving force, pushing her to persevere despite the financial challenges of pursuing tennis in Belarus at the time.

Sergey's sudden passing in November 2019 came years before Sabalenka secured back-to-back Australian Open victories. She triumphed over Elena Rybakina in the 2023 final and followed with a win against Qinwen Zheng in 2024. Additionally, she claimed the 2023 U.S. Open title by defeating Jessica Pegula.

Despite holding the world No. 1 ranking, Sabalenka has yet to capture the French Open or Wimbledon titles—two of her most coveted trophies. Her best performance at Roland Garros was a narrow semifinal loss to Karolina Muchova in 2023, with a closely contested three-set match. The previous year, she exited in the quarterfinals while battling a stomach illness.

Sabalenka's Wimbledon appearances have also been limited; she missed two of the last three tournaments due to injury and restrictions on Belarusian players following geopolitical tensions. In 2021, she reached the semifinals before falling to Ons Jabeur.