Aryna Sabalenka’s Back-to-Back Australian Open Glory

Getty Aryna Sabalenka celebrates winning the 2024 Australian Open

The current Women’s World No. 2, Aryna Sabalenka, is the 2024 Australian Open Champion. This marks the Belarusian tennis standout’s second Grand Slam title.

But this win is not just another Grand Slam title for Sabalenka.

The 25-year-old’s Australian Open victory was record-setting for her career, and here’s why.

1. Aryna Sabalenka Won the Australian Open Without Dropping a Single Set

On her road to the 2024 Australian Open title, Sabalenka won every match in straight sets. According to Tennis Magazine, this consistent play helped Sabalenka become the first woman in two years to secure a Grand Slam title without dropping a set, a feat last achieved by Ashleigh Barty in 2022.

Moreover, Sabalenka joined an elite group of female tennis stars as she became only the fifth woman since 2000 to win the Australian Open without losing a set. The other four women to achieve this were Lindsay Davenport in 2000, Maria Sharapova in 2008, Serena Williams in 2017, and Barty in 2022.

2. Sabalenka Defeated Coco Gauff on Her Road to the Title

After losing to American tennis star Coco Gauff at the 2023 U.S. Open, Aryna was motivated to work harder and come back stronger.

“I’m definitely a different person and a player and I have more experience playing the last stages of the Grand Slams,” Sabalenka shared with reporters. “There was some tough moments for me losing the U.S. Open final – that loss actually motivated me so much to work even harder.

In the semifinals, Sabalenka defeated No. 4 ranked Gauff 7-6(2), 6-4 and extended her winning streak in Melbourne to 13 matches, according to ESPN. Tennis Magazine reported that this win was Sabalenka’s first career win over a Top 4 player at a Grand Slam.

“It was an incredible match,” Sabalenka said. “She’s a great player, always tough battles against her. I think the key was that I was able to stay focused no matter what, no matter what the score was, I just keep trying my best, keep fighting for it.

3. Aryna’s Win Makes Her a Back-to-Back Australian Open Champion

This is not Sabalenka’s first Grand Slam title, nor her first Australian Open title. The young Belarusian is now the 2023 and 2024 Australian Open Champion. Tennis Magazine reported that Sabalenka is only the third woman in the Open Era to clinch her first two Grand Slam titles at the same Grand Slam in consecutive years.

“It’s been on my mind that I didn’t want to be that player who wins [a Grand Slam] and then disappeared,” Sabalenka told ESPN after the 2024 Australian Open finals. “I just wanted to show that I’m able to be consistently there and I’m able to win another one.

These back-to-back victories also make Sabalenka the first woman since Victoria Azarenka in 2012 and 2013 to claim consecutive Australian Open titles, per Tennis Magazine. Only eight other women in the Open Era have achieved consecutive Grand Slam titles.

A further breakdown of Sabalenka’s consecutive Australian Open titles shows that she won her last 14 matches and 28 out of her last 29 sets in Melbourne.

Sabalenka looks to carry her impressive Australian Open play into her 2024 season.

She told reporters, “Now, having two Grand Slam titles, it’s definitely given me more confidence and believe in myself. I’m where I’m meant to be, so that’s really important.”