- The world number 2 made her way to the US Open for the second year in a row
- Sabalenka, 26, defeated American Emma Navarro 6-3, 7-6 in the semi-finals
- A statistic has shown how Sabalenka has outperformed the male stars in New York
Aryna Sabalenka has stormed to the US Open final for the second year in a row.
The Belarusian tennis player will have to face a crowd in New York that will cheer on American star Jessica Pegula.
The world number two admitted she struggled to cope with the crowd last year when she lost to American Coco Gauff in the final.
An interesting statistic has been revealed that could give him the edge in Saturday night’s final.
According to official tournament tracking data, the world No. 2 has recorded an average forehand topspin speed of 80 mph during her run to the final.
Aryna Sabalenka has stormed to the US Open final for the second year in a row
Sabalenka’s average forehand speed at the US Open was the fastest of the tournament
The speed rankings put him faster than some of the top male tennis players, including Carlos Alcaraz (79 mph), Jannik Sinner (78 mph) and Novak Djokovic (76 mph).
Reacting to the remarkable statistic after her quarter-final win over Qinwen Zheng, Sabalenka admitted her surprise.
“I saw my stats on my forehand and I really can’t believe I’m that fast,” Sabalenka said.
“I felt a little uncomfortable being at the top (of the list) and even hitting harder than the others. It’s a really interesting statistic,” she said.
This is not the first time Sabalenka has outperformed her male counterparts and found herself at the top of the statistics rankings.
Earlier this year, in her French Open first-round match against Erika Andreeva, she recorded a top forehand speed of 78 mph.
The impressive number even managed to surpass the shot of the male number one, Jannik Sinner, as he could only manage a top forehand speed of 75 mph.
The strength of her forehand at Roland Garros earlier this year was quite surprising to everyone because the clay courts present at the French venue generally produce the slowest-paced forehands among the four major events.
Sabalenka’s forehand has outperformed top male stars including Novak Djokovic, pictured
Jannik Sinner, who advanced to the men’s final, averaged 78 bpm at the US Open.
Sabalenka booked her place in this year’s final after overcoming a hostile crowd in the semi-finals when she faced American Emma Navarro.
She fought her way through the match and managed to beat the American 6-3 and 7-6.
Sabalenka’s groundstrokes have been compared to those of 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams, so it seems only fitting that she today becomes the first woman since the American to appear in back-to-back finals at Flushing Meadows.
This time he hopes to secure victory after last year’s disappointing defeat.
She enters the final as the heavy favorite and looks set to win her first US Open and third Grand Slam title.
