© Getty Images Sport – Julian Finney
Aryna Sabalenka’s very dominant display at this year’s Australian Open landed the Belarusian a very notable feat as the 25-year-old is the fifth player in the 21st century to win the opening Grand Slam of the season without a dropped set.
After becoming a Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open in 2023, Sabalenka returned to Melbourne Park this January and successfully defended her title. On Sunday, second-seeded Sabalenka gave no chance to Zheng Qinwen, beating the 12th-seeded Chinese 6-3 6-2.
En route to defending her Australian Open title, Sabalenka also got the job done in two sets against Ella Seidel, Brenda Fruhvirtova, Lesia Tsurenko, Amanda Anisimova, Barbora Krejcikova, and Coco Gauff. The closest to taking a set off Sabalenka was Gauff, who pushed the Belarusian into a tie-break in the first set of their semifinal match.
Before Sabalenka, four players managed to win the Australian Open without a dropped set in the 21st century – Lindsay Davenport (2000), Maria Sharapova (2008), Serena Williams (2017), and Ashleigh Barty (2022).
5 – Aryna Sabalenka is the 5th player this Century to secure the Women’s Singles title at the Australian Open without a…
