World No. 1 Sabalenka in crisis: expert blames her social life

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus is going through a prolonged slump, and according to tennis expert Oleynichak, the reason lies not in injuries but in the player's lifestyle. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina has closed in on the WTA rankings lead — the gap could soon shrink to a symbolic four points.

A brilliant start followed by a sudden slump

The season began perfectly for Sabalenka: a title in Brisbane, a final at the Australian Open, and then triumphs in Indian Wells and Miami. But then things took a sharp turn. On clay in Madrid she was knocked out in the quarterfinals, and in Rome she fell as early as the second round. At the French Open, the Belarusian couldn't get past Russia's Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals, losing in straight sets. At Wimbledon, Sabalenka exited after a fourth-round loss to Japan's Naomi Osaka, and at the recent tournament in Toronto she again fell in the fourth round — this time to another Russian, Ekaterina Alexandrova.

"Queen of parties" instead of training

According to expert Oleynichak, Sabalenka's string of setbacks can be explained fairly simply. "She's become the queen of parties and social events. She spends less and less time on her work. Instead, she's spotted on yachts, at Formula 1 races, or at gala parties. On top of that, she now has a fiancé. All these factors suggest she's running away from tennis in some way," the expert believes.

In his view, the player has forgotten that hard training and matches must remain her priority. "If she doesn't realize this, she'll soon lose her position as world No. 1. Elena Rybakina is already close and is simply waiting for Sabalenka to stumble again," the expert added.

Rybakina closing in

Indeed, the Kazakhstani player is rapidly narrowing the gap. If she wins the Toronto tournament, the difference will be just four points. After reaching the semifinals, her deficit has already shrunk to 614 points.

Rybakina herself remains modest and avoids bold statements. "I only think about it when journalists ask me. I focus on the present and don't track the rankings. What matters to me is going match by match and winning titles," she said after reaching the semifinals in Toronto.

Even if the Moscow-born player doesn't lift the trophy in Canada, she still has a strong chance of overtaking Sabalenka after the US Open: last year she reached only the fourth round there and is defending just 240 points, whereas Sabalenka won the title in New York two years running, earning 2,000 points. Before that, the two rivals face a dress rehearsal in Cincinnati, where both are defending roughly similar point totals — 215 for Sabalenka and 390 for Rybakina.

Exactly when the changing of the guard in women's tennis will happen is a matter of time, but the coming weeks give Rybakina her best shot at making the breakthrough.

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz