Aryna Sabalenka has now surpassed one of Iga Swiatek’s career milestones
· Yahoo Sports
Aryna Sabalenka wrote her name into the record books with a Miami Open title win on Saturday.
Visit extonnews.click for more information.
Sabalenka, who currently sits atop the WTA rankings, became just the fifth woman in history to complete the Sunshine Double: winning both Indian Wells and Miami in the same season.
Her 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Coco Gauff marked her second major title of the year and matched a feat last accomplished by Iga Swiatek in 2022.
Following her win at Indian Wells earlier this month, Sabalenka has not only drawn level with Swiatek but has already surpassed one of her previous benchmarks.
Sabalenka reaches 76 consecutive weeks as the world number one
Photo by Al Bello/Getty ImagesFollowing her victory in Miami, Aryna Sabalenka’s place at the top of the rankings is now secure for a while to come.
The Belarusian has now held the top spot for 76 straight weeks, 84 overall, moving past Swiatek’s personal best of 75 consecutive weeks between April 2022 and September 2023.
This run also matches Chris Evert’s second-best total. Evert was number one for 76 weeks from November 1980 to May 1982.
Next on Sabalenka’s list is Martina Hingis, who held the top ranking for an uninterrupted stretch of 80 weeks between March 1997 and October 1998.
At the very top are Serena Williams and Steffi Graf. Both players enjoyed remarkable runs, holding onto the number one ranking for an unmatched span of 186 weeks each.
Aryna Sabalenka’s run at the top has now reached 76 straight weeks
With her Miami Open win, Aryna Sabalenka locked in her spot as world number one for a good while yet.
The Belarusian has now been number one for 76 straight weeks, and 84 in total.
This streak edges past Iga Swiatek’s best run, which lasted 75 weeks from April 2022 to September 2023.
Sabalenka also matches Chris Evert’s second-best mark. The American great held the top spot for 76 weeks between November 1980 and May 1982.
Next up on the list is Martina Hingis. The Swiss player was number one for an 80-week stretch from March 1997 to October 1998.
Serena Williams and Steffi Graf hold the overall record, each with runs of 186 consecutive weeks at number one during their careers.
Sabalenka is well-positioned to keep her streak going into the clay-court season.
She currently holds a lead of more than two thousand points over Elena Rybakina in second place – sitting on a total of 11,025 ranking points as it stands today.
Sabalenka’s clay court defence and what it means for her ranking
Sabalenka had an excellent clay-court campaign last year, highlighted by her title in Madrid and finals appearances in Germany and France. She picked up 2,850 WTA ranking points across that swing last year – all of which she’ll be defending this time around.
This puts some pressure on her because Elena Rybakina isn’t defending nearly as many points during this period – less than 1,000 points across the 2026, in fact – so there’s a real possibility that Sabalenka could lose ground at the top if results don’t go her way.
Read more: