Career Timeline of Aryna Sabalenka: Major Achievements and Milestones

From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how Aryna Sabalenka made an impact.

Aryna Sabalenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player currently ranked No. 1 in the world for women's singles by the WTA. She previously held the No. 1 ranking in doubles. Sabalenka's career highlights include 22 WTA Tour-level singles titles, with four Grand Slam victories: two at the Australian Open and two at the US Open. She has also claimed nine WTA 1000 titles. In doubles, she has six titles, including the 2019 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open, both won in partnership with Elise Mertens.

Sections (3)

Full Timeline Career & Achievements Success & Recognition

2012: Start on ITF Women's Circuit

In 2012, Aryna Sabalenka began playing on the ITF Women's Circuit, competing in tournaments in Minsk.

2013: First ITF Event

In 2013, Aryna Sabalenka competed in her first ITF event at the Grade-4 Tallink Cup in Estonia at the age of 15. Also, she won her first ITF title in doubles at the Grade-5 Alatan Tour Cup in Belarus with Vera Lapko.

2013: Australian Open Win

In 2013, Victoria Azarenka successfully defended her title at the Australian Open. Sabalenka later accomplished the same feat.

2014: First Professional Match Win

At the very end of 2014, Aryna Sabalenka won her first professional match in Istanbul.

2014: Success at Grade 4 Events

In 2014, Aryna Sabalenka excelled at Grade 4 events, reaching her first singles final at the Estonian Junior Open in June and winning her first singles title at the MTV Total Junior Cup in Finland in October. At the end of the season, she defended her Alatan Tour Cup doubles title with Nika Shytkouskaya and also won the singles title.

2014: Junior Fed Cup

In 2014, Aryna Sabalenka represented Belarus at the Junior Fed Cup, with the team finishing in sixth place.

2014: Serena Williams Wins US Open

In 2014, Serena Williams won the US Open. Aryna Sabalenka became the first singles player to defend a US Open title since Serena Williams won the 2014 US Open, achieving the feat in 2024.

2015: European Junior Championships

In 2015, Aryna Sabalenka only played in one tournament, the European Junior Championships, losing in the second round to Markéta Vondroušová.

2015: Focus on Professional Events

In 2015, the Belarusian Tennis Federation persuaded Aryna Sabalenka and her team to focus on playing low-level professional events instead of junior tournaments.

April 2016: Senior Fed Cup Debut

In April 2016, Aryna Sabalenka made her senior Fed Cup debut for Belarus, losing a doubles match against Russia. Despite the loss, the Belarusian team qualified for the World Group for the first time.

2016: Fed Cup Debut and Top 200 Ranking

In 2016, Aryna Sabalenka made her Fed Cup debut, won two $50k titles, entered the top 200 in May, and finished the year ranked at No. 137 in the world.

2016: WTA Tour Debut and First Win

In 2016, Aryna Sabalenka played in her first WTA Tour main draw at the Dubai Open, reaching the main draw through qualifying at Wimbledon and defeating Irina Khromacheva for her first WTA Tour match win. She also won against Lauren Davis at the Washington Open.

2016: Reaching Semifinals of all four major events and becoming world no. 1

In 2016, Serena Williams reached the semifinals of all four major events and Sabalenka became the world No. 1 tennis player at the conclusion of the US Open. 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.

2017: Fed Cup Runner-Up Finish

In 2017, Aryna Sabalenka and Aliaksandra Sasnovich led the Belarus Fed Cup team to a runner-up finish, despite being ranked outside the top 75.

2017: Transition to WTA Events

In 2017, Aryna Sabalenka increased participation in WTA events due to higher ranking.

2017: First time on grass courts

In 2017, Aryna Sabalenka played on grass courts for the first time at Wimbledon and enjoyed it, noting her game suited grass and hard courts.

2017: Previous Fed Cup success

In 2017, Belarus enjoyed success in the Fed Cup, a feat they were unable to repeat in 2018.

2018: Year-End Ranking No. 11

At the end of 2018, Aryna Sabalenka was ranked No. 11 in the world in singles.

2018: Year-End Ranking and Titles in China

In 2018, Aryna Sabalenka finished the year with the same year-end ranking, winning three titles in China. She began the season by winning her third career WTA title at the Shenzhen Open.

2018: Australian Open Loss and Indian Wells Performance

In 2018, Aryna Sabalenka lost in the first round of the Australian Open to Ashleigh Barty but reached the third round at the Indian Wells Open, including a victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova.

2018: Ladies Open Lugano finals

In 2018, Aryna Sabalenka reached the finals in both singles and doubles at the Ladies Open Lugano on clay courts.

2018: Wuhan Open Win

In 2018, Aryna Sabalenka won the Wuhan Open.

2018: Fed Cup Quarterfinal Loss

In 2018, Belarus hosted Germany in the Fed Cup quarterfinals in Minsk. Despite Aryna Sabalenka winning both her singles matches, Belarus lost the decisive doubles rubber, resulting in their elimination.

2018: Coaching changes

In early 2018, Aryna Sabalenka stopped working with Khalil Ibrahimov and began working with Magnus Norman and Magnus Tideman. Dmitry Tursunov became her primary coach for the grass court season in 2018.

2019: Split and reunion with coach Tursunov

After the 2019 US Open, Aryna Sabalenka briefly split with Dmitry Tursunov, her coach, but they reunited later in 2019 before a permanent split at the end of the season.

2019: 2019 Fed Cup

In 2019 Fed Cup, Sabalenka won both of her singles rubbers against Andrea Petkovic and Laura Siegemund to clinch the tie against Germany. However, Belarus was eliminated in the semi-finals against Australia.

2019: Doubles Success and WTA Finals Qualification

In 2019, Aryna Sabalenka began playing doubles regularly, winning the Sunshine Double with Elise Mertens and qualifying for the WTA Finals after winning the US Open doubles title.

2019: Year-End Ranking No. 11

In 2019, Aryna Sabalenka finished the year ranked No. 11 in the world in singles for the second consecutive year.

2019: US Open Doubles Title

In 2019, Aryna Sabalenka won the US Open doubles title with Elise Mertens.

2019: Fed Cup World Group Play-offs

In 2019, Belarus competed against Slovakia in the Fed Cup World Group play-offs in Minsk. After Sabalenka and Sasnovich split their singles rubbers, Lapko and Marozava won the decisive doubles match, keeping Belarus in the World Group.

2019: Rivalry with Elena Rybakina Begins

Since 2019, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina have met 15 times, with Sabalenka leading 8–7 in the head-to-head.

2020: High Double Fault Count

In 2020, Aryna Sabalenka served 166 double faults, the most of any player.

2020: Rivalry with Coco Gauff Begins

Since 2020, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff have met 12 times, with their head-to-head record tied at 6–6.

February 2021: Ascension to World No. 1 in Doubles

On February 22, 2021, Aryna Sabalenka won the doubles competition with Elise Mertens at the Australian Open and ascended to world No. 1 in the doubles rankings for the first time in her career.

2021: Rise to World No. 2 Ranking

Following two major singles semifinal appearances in 2021, Aryna Sabalenka rose to the world No. 2 ranking.

2021: First clay court title at Madrid Open

In 2021, Aryna Sabalenka secured her first clay court title at the Madrid Open.

2021: Madrid 2021

In 2021, Aryna Sabalenka won her first title at the Madrid 2021.

2021: World No. 1 in Doubles

In 2021, Aryna Sabalenka won the Australian Open doubles title with Elise Mertens and became the world No. 1 in the discipline, after which she shifted to playing exclusively singles.

2021: Australian Open Doubles Title

In 2021, Aryna Sabalenka won the Australian Open doubles title with Elise Mertens.

2021: Abu Dhabi Open Title

In 2021, Aryna Sabalenka won the title at the Abu Dhabi Open, extending her winning streak to 15 matches and reaching a new ranking of No. 7.

2021: Rivalry with Iga Świątek Begins

Since 2021, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Świątek have met 13 times, with Świątek leading the head-to-head 8–5. Their rivalry is considered one of the greatest in women's tennis.

2022: 2022 Season

In 2022, Aryna Sabalenka reached the quarterfinals at the Qatar Ladies Open, her first final at the Stuttgart Open, and was knocked out of the Madrid Open by Amanda Anisimova. At the Italian Open, she lost to Świątek in the semifinals for the third time in 2022 and she lost in the third round at the French Open.

January 2023: Appearance in Netflix's Break Point

Aryna Sabalenka appeared in the tennis docuseries Break Point, which premiered on Netflix on 13 January 2023.

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2023: Custom garments by Nike

From the 2023 US Open onwards, Nike started to design custom garments for Aryna Sabalenka.

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2023: Australian Open Final Win

In 2023, Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina in three sets at the Australian Open final to win her first Grand Slam title.

2023: First Major Singles Title and World No. 1 Ranking

In 2023, Aryna Sabalenka won her first major singles title at the Australian Open, finished runner-up at the US Open, obtained the world No. 1 ranking, and was named the ITF World Champion for the season.

2023: BNP Paribas Open Win for Rybakina

In 2023, Elena Rybakina won a contested final against Aryna Sabalenka 7–6(11), 6–4 to secure her first WTA 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Open.

2024: Shoulder Injury, Wimbledon Withdrawal, and Cincinnati Open Win

In 2024, Aryna Sabalenka suffered a right shoulder injury at the Berlin Ladies Open in June and subsequently withdrew from the Wimbledon Championships. However, she rebounded by winning the Cincinnati Open in August, defeating Iga Świątek and Jessica Pegula.

2024: Wuhan Open Title

In 2024, Aryna Sabalenka won her third Wuhan Open title, defeating Zheng Qinwen in the final. She also secured her second WTA 1000 title for the season.

2024: Australian Open semifinals Win

In 2024, Sabalenka defeated Gauff at the Australian Open semifinals on her way to defending the title.

June 2025: Global ambassador for IM8

In June 2025, Aryna Sabalenka became a global ambassador and minority shareholder of IM8, a health‑supplement brand co‑founded by David Beckham.

2025: Year-End World No. 1 and WTA Player of the Year

At the conclusion of the 2025 season, Aryna Sabalenka finished as year-end world no. 1 for the second consecutive time, and was also named WTA Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.

2025: Continued Success, Year-End No. 1

In 2025, Aryna Sabalenka defended her Australian Open title and won the US Open the following year, finishing as the year-end No. 1. She defended her title at the US Open, and was the runner-up at the Australian and French Opens, becoming the year-end No. 1 for the second consecutive year.

2025: Brisbane International Title

In 2025, Aryna Sabalenka started the year by winning the Brisbane International, defeating Polina Kudermetova in the final and claiming the 18th singles title of her career.

2025: French Open Major Championship Win for Gauff

In 2025, Gauff overtook Sabalenka for her first French Open Major Championship win and second Grand Slam overall.

2025: Max Mirnyi joins coaching team

In 2025, Max Mirnyi, a Belarusian former professional tennis player and 10-time major doubles champion, joined Aryna Sabalenka's coaching team as a consultant.

2025: 2025 WTA Finals

In 2025, Rybakina defeated Sabalenka in the finals of the WTA Finals 6–3, 7–6(0).

2025: 2025 Rybakina won Cincinnati Open quarterfinals

In 2025, Rybakina won the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals where Sabalenka was the defending champion.

2025: WTA Finals Finals Rematch

In 2025, Sabalenka and Rybakina's faced each other in the WTA Finals, the third time they played each other, with Rybakina winning.

2025: 2025 Wuhan Open quarterfinals

In 2025, Sabalenka defeated Rybakina at the Wuhan Open quarterfinals.

2026: Brisbane International Title Defense

In 2026, Aryna Sabalenka began her season by successfully defending her Brisbane International title, defeating Marta Kostyuk in the final without dropping a set during her run in Brisbane.