Victoria Azarenka backs Aryna Sabalenka as ‘best player in the world’ – Swiatek fans disagree

Victoria Azarenka's congratulations to Aryna Sabalenka sparked controversy following her US Open title. The world No. 20 was emphatic on social media, calling her compatriot "the best player in the world this season," seemingly downplaying world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

Despite winning her second Grand Slam title of the year, Sabalenka remains ranked world No. 2 with 8,716 points, compared to Swiatek’s 10,885, a difference of more than 2,000 points. Regarding the WTA Race, which exclusively tracks points earned in 2024, Sabalenka has closed the gap, reaching 7,876 points, though still trailing Swiatek’s 8,285 by over 400 points.

With no more Grand Slam tournaments remaining and only two WTA 1000 events left, Sabalenka is directly in contention to finish the year as world No. 1. In particular, the WTA Finals will be her big chance, as Swiatek will have to defend 1,500 points there to secure her top spot.

After her Flushing Meadows title, several players congratulated Sabalenka, including Swiatek, Carlos Alcaraz, and Paula Badosa, among others. However, the comment that caught the most attention on X was from Vika Azarenka, who declared her compatriot the best player of the season: “Amazing win for @SabalenkaA. Congratulations. Best player in the world this season!”

The post from the former world No. 1 drew numerous comments from fans, who criticized it for supposedly disrespecting Swiatek, who won the French Open this year and 4 of the 8 WTA 1000 tournaments played, while Sabalenka stands out with one WTA 1000 and two Grand Slam titles.

“If only there was I don’t know, some sort of points system to determine that. Wonder if she’d be top of it," commented an user on X.

"In terms of Slams – Aryna is the best. But when you look at the whole season, the most consistent player is Iga. Just worth putting things into perspective," commented another user.

Another user replied with a photo of the live WTA Race standings, showing that Swiatek has earned more points than Sabalenka this season: "Well," they posted with the picture.

“I don't think it's the case at the moment, but the season isn't over yet, so maybe? It's hard to say, because this year there were Olympics, where A. Sabalenka didn't play.”