The 2023 Aryna Sabalenka tennis season officially began on 4 January 2023 with the start of the Adelaide International.
During this season, Sabalenka: Won her first major title at the Australian Open. Clinched the singles No.1 ranking for the first time in her career.
Yearly summary Early hard court season Sabalenka entered Adelaide 1 as the second seed. She reached her first final of the season by defeating Liudmila Samsonova, Markéta Vondroušová, Irina-Camelia Begu en route. Then, she defeated Czech teenage qualifier Linda Nosková to win her first title since Madrid 2021 and her 11th career title without dropping a set all week.
Sabalenka entered the Australian Open as the fifth seed. She defeated Tereza Martincová, Shelby Rogers, former doubles partner and 26th seed Elise Mertens, and the previous week's Adelaide 2 champion and world no. 10 Belinda Bencic to reach her first-ever Australian Open quarterfinal. She then beat Donna Vekić to reached her fourth Grand Slam semifinal, and won her tenth consecutive match by beating Magda Linette to make her first ever major final. In the final, she defeated reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in three sets to win her first major title. She became the second Belarusian to ever win a major singles title, and the first since Victoria Azarenka, a decade ago. After winning the title in Melbourne, Sabalenka rose back to No. 2 in the WTA rankings.
In Dubai, Sabalenka defeated Lauren Davis and Jeļena Ostapenko to reach the quarterfinals, where she fell to the eventual champion Barbora Krejčíková in three sets. She then participated in Indian Wells, where she defeated Evgeniya Rodina and took revenge from Barbora Krejčíková for her last defeat in three sets. Then she beat Coco Gauff and Maria Sakkari to reach her first Indian Wells final, where she lost to Elena Rybakina in a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open final. In Miami, Sabalenka defeated Shelby Rogers, Marie Bouzková, and Barbora Krejčíková each in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals, where she was defeated by Sorana Cîrstea.
Early clay court season Sabalenka started her clay court season in Stuttgart, where she defeated Barbora Krejčíková, Paula Badosa, and Anastasia Potapova to reach her fourth final of the year. In the final, which was a rematch of last year's final, she was defeated by world No. 1 Iga Świątek in straight sets for the second consecutive year. In Madrid, Sabalenka reached her second final at this tournament, defeating Sorana Cîrstea, Camila Osorio, Mirra Andreeva, Mayar Sherif, and Maria Sakkari, dropping just one set en route to the final. In the final, she would once again face Iga Świątek, and would win her third title of the year in three sets.
In Rome, Sabalenka would suffer her first early defeat of the year, losing in straight sets to former Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin. At the French Open, she would reach the semifinals without dropping a set, defeating Marta Kostyuk, Iryna Shymanovich, Kamilla Rakhimova, Sloane Stephens, and Elina Svitolina. In the semifinals, she would face Karolína Muchová. Sabalenka lost this match in three sets, despite leading 5–2 and holding match point.
Grass court season Sabalenka began her grass court season in Berlin, defeating Vera Zvonareva before losing to Veronika Kudermetova. Sabalenka next competed at Wimbledon, where she would reach her fourth straight major semifinal. Sabalenka defeated Panna Udvardy, Varvara Gracheva, Anna Blinkova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, and Madison Keys, before losing to Ons Jabeur, despite leading by a set and a break.
North American hard court season Her next tournament would be Montréal, where she would defeat Petra Martić, before losing in three sets to eventual runner-up Liudmila Samsonova. She next reached the semifinals in Cincinnati, defeating Ann Li, Daria Kasatkina, and Ons Jabeur, before falling once again in three sets to Karolína Muchová.
At the US Open, Sabalenka would reach the semifinals by defeating Maryna Zanevska, Jodie Burrage, Clara Burel, Daria Kasatkina, and Zheng Qinwen in straight sets, dropping just 21 games in all five matches. Following these wins, Sabalenka became the first player since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events in one year. She faced Madison Keys in the semifinals, recovering from a set and break deficit and serving to stay in the match four times in the final two sets. In her second major final of the year, Sabalenka faced Coco Gauff, and would lose in three sets. Due to the loss of world No. 1 Iga Świątek in the fourth round, Sabalenka became the world No. 1 tennis player at the conclusion of the tournament. 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. With Sabalenka reaching the final, she became the first woman since Serena Williams to reach the semifinals or better at all four majors in a season since 2016.
All matches
Singles matches Tournament Match Round Opponent Rank Result Score – 1R Bye 1 2R Liudmila Samsonova 20 Win 7–6(10–8), 7–6(7–3) 2 QF Markéta Vondroušová 92 Win 6–3, 7–5 3 SF Irina-Camelia Begu 34 Win 6–3, 6–2 4 W Linda Nosková 102 Win 6–3, 7–6(7–4) 5 1R Tereza Martincová 74 Win 6–1, 6–4 6 2R Shelby Rogers 51 Win 6–3, 6–1 7 3R Elise Mertens 32 Win 6–2, 6–3 8 4R Belinda Bencic 10 Win 7–5, 6–2 9 QF Donna Vekić 64 Win 6–3, 6–2 10 SF Magda Linette 45 Win 7–6(7–1), 6–2 11 W Elena Rybakina 25 Win 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 – 1R Bye 12 2R Lauren Davis 49 Win 6–0, 6–1 13 3R Jeļena Ostapenko 20 Win 2–6, 6–1, 6–1 14 QF Barbora Krejčíková 30 Loss 6–0, 6–7(2–7), 1–6 – 1R Bye 15 2R Evgeniya Rodina 427 Win 6–2, 6–0 – 3R Lesia Tsurenko 95 Walkover 16 4R Barbora Krejčíková 16 Win 6–3, 2–6, 6–4 17 QF Coco Gauff 6 Win 6–4, 6–0 18 SF Maria Sakkari 7 Win 6–2, 6–3 19 F Elena Rybakina 10 Loss 6–7(11–13), 4–6 – 1R Bye 20 2R Shelby Rogers 42 Win 6–4, 6–3 21 3R Marie Bouzková 36 Win 6–1, 6–2 22 4R Barbora Krejčíková 13 Win 6–3, 6–2 23 QF Sorana Cîrstea 74 Loss 4–6, 4–6 – 1R Bye 24 2R Barbora Krejčíková 12 Win 6–2, 6–3 25 QF Paula Badosa 31 Win 4–6, 6–4, 6–4 26 SF Anastasia Potapova 24 Win 6–1, 6–2 27 F Iga Świątek 1 Loss 3–6, 4–6 – 1R Bye 28 2R Sorana Cîrstea 44 Win 6–3, 6–4 29 3R Camila Osorio 115 Win 6–4, 7–5 30 4R Mirra Andreeva 194 Win 6–3, 6–1 31 QF Mayar Sherif 59 Win 2–6, 6–2, 6–1 32 SF Maria Sakkari 9 Win 6–4, 6–1 33 W Iga Świątek 1 Win 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 – 1R Bye 34 2R Sofia Kenin 134 Loss 6–7(4–7), 2–6 35 1R Marta Kostyuk 39 Win 6–3, 6–2 36 2R Iryna Shymanovich 214 Win 7–5, 6–2 37 3R Kamilla Rakhimova 82 Win 6–2, 6–2 38 4R Sloane Stephens 30 Win 7–6(7–5), 6–4 39 QF Elina Svitolina 192 Win 6–4, 6–4 40 SF Karolína Muchová 43 Loss 6–7(5–7), 7–6(9–7), 5–7 41 1R Vera Zvonareva 1243 Win 6–3, 6–2 42 2R Veronika Kudermetova 13 Loss 2–6, 6–7(2–7) 43 1R Panna Udvardy 82 Win 6–1, 6–3 44 2R Varvara Gracheva 41 Win 2–6, 7–5, 6–2 45 3R Anna Blinkova 40 Win 6–2, 6–3 46 4R Ekaterina Alexandrova 22 Win 6–4, 6–0 47 QF Madison Keys 18 Win 6–2, 6–4 48 SF Ons Jabeur 6 Loss 7–6(7–5), 4–6, 3–6 – 1R Bye 49 2R Petra Martić 35 Win 6–3, 7–6(7–5) 50 3R Liudmila Samsonova 18 Loss 6–7(2–7), 6–4, 3–6 – 1R Bye 51 2R Ann Li 192 Win 7–5, 2–6, 6–4 52 3R Daria Kasatkina 13 Win 6–3, 6–3 53 QF Ons Jabeur 5 Win 7–5, 6–3 54 SF Karolína Muchová 17 Loss 7–6(7–4), 3–6, 2–6 55 1R Maryna Zanevska 112 Win 6–3, 6–2 56 2R Jodie Burrage 96 Win 6–3, 6–2 57 3R Clara Burel 62 Win 6–1, 6–1 58 4R Daria Kasatkina 14 Win 6–1, 6–3 59 QF Zheng Qinwen 23 Win 6–1, 6–4 60 SF Madison Keys 17 Win 0–6, 7–6(7–1), 7–6(10–5) 61 F Coco Gauff 6 Loss 6–2, 3–6, 2–6 62 1R Sofia Kenin 31 Win 6–1, 6–2 63 2R Katie Boulter 56 Win 7–5, 7–6(7–2) 64 3R Jasmine Paolini 36 Win 6–4, 7–6(7–4) 65 QF Elena Rybakina 5 Loss 5–7, 2–6 66 RR Maria Sakkari 9 Win 6–0, 6–1 67 RR Jessica Pegula 5 Loss 4–6, 3–6 68 RR Elena Rybakina 4 Win 6–2, 3–6, 6–3 69 SF Iga Świątek 2 Loss 3–6, 2–6
Doubles matches Tournament Match Round Opponent Combined Rank Result Score 1 1R Anna Bondár / Oksana Kalashnikova Win 4–6, 6–4, [10–8] 2 2R Chan Hao-ching / Yang Zhaoxuan 52 Win 4–6, 6–1, [10–5] 3 QF Cristina Bucșa / Makoto Ninomiya Win 6–2, 6–2 4 SF Storm Hunter / Kateřina Siniaková 11 Loss 4–6, 6–1, [3–10]
Tournament schedule Singles schedule Date Tournament Location Category Surface Previousresult Previouspoints Newpoints Outcome 1 January 2023 –8 January 2023 Adelaide International 1 Australia WTA 500 Hard First round 10 500 Winner, defeated Linda Nosková6–3, 7–6(7–4) 16 January 2023 –29 January 2023 Australian Open Australia Grand Slam Hard Fourth round 240 2000 Winner, defeated Elena Rybakina3–6, 6–3, 6–4 20 February 2023 –26 February 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships United Arab Emirates WTA 1000 Hard Second round 55 105 Quarterfinals lost to Barbora Krejčíková6–0, 6–7(2–7), 1–6 6 March 2023 –19 March 2023 Indian Wells Open United States WTA 1000 Hard Second round 10 650 Final lost to Elena Rybakina6–7(11–13), 4–6 21 March 2023 –2 April 2023 Miami Open United States WTA 1000 Hard Second round 10 215 Quarterfinals lost to Sorana Cîrstea4–6, 4–6 17 April 2023 –23 April 2023 Stuttgart Open Germany WTA 500 Clay (i) Final 305 305 Final lost to Iga Świątek3–6, 4–6 24 April 2023 –7 May 2023 Madrid Open Spain WTA 1000 Clay Second round 10 1000 Winner, defeated Iga Świątek6–3, 3–6, 6–3 9 May 2023 –21 May 2023 Italian Open Italy WTA 1000 Clay Semifinals 350 10 Second round lost to Sofia Kenin6–7(4–7), 2–6 28 May 2023 –11 June 2023 French Open France Grand Slam Clay Third round 130 780 Semifinals lost to Karolína Muchová6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–5), 5–7 19 June 2023 –25 June 2023 German Open Germany WTA 500 Grass First round 1 55 Second round lost to Veronika Kudermetova2–6, 6–7(2–7) 3 July 2022 –16 July 2022 Wimbledon United Kingdom Grand Slam Grass Could not participate 780 Semifinals lost to Ons Jabeur7–6(7–5), 4–6, 3–6 7 August 2023 –13 August 2023 Canadian Open Canada WTA 1000 Hard Third round 105 105 Third round lost to Liudmila Samsonova6–7(2–7), 6–4, 3–6 13 August 2023 –20 August 2023 Cincinnati Open United States WTA 1000 Hard Semifinals 350 350 Semifinals lost to Karolína Muchová7–6(7–4), 3–6, 2–6 28 August 2023 –4 September 2023 US Open United States Grand Slam Hard Semifinals 780 1300 Final lost to Coco Gauff6–2, 3–6, 2–6 30 September 2023 –8 October 2023 China Open China WTA 1000 Hard Not held 0 215 Quarterfinals lost to Elena Rybakina5–7, 2–6 29 October 2023 –5 November 2023 WTA Finals Mexico WTA Finals Hard Final 955 625 Semifinals lost to Iga Świątek3–6, 2–6 Total year-end points 9,050
Doubles schedule Date Tournament Location Category Surface Previousresult Outcome 1 January 2023–8 January 2023 Adelaide International 1 Australia WTA 500 Hard Did notparticipate Semifinals lost to Storm Hunter / Kateřina Siniaková4–6, 6–1, [3–10]
Yearly records
Head-to-head match-ups Sabalenka has a WTA match win–loss record in the 2023 season. Her record against players who were part of the WTA rankings top ten at the time of their meetings is . Bold indicates player was ranked top 10 at the time of at least one meeting. The following list is ordered by number of wins:
Maria Sakkari 3–0 Daria Kasatkina 2–0 Madison Keys 2–0 Shelby Rogers 2–0 Barbora Krejčíková 2–1 Elena Rybakina 2–2 Belinda Bencic 1–0 Ekaterina Alexandrova 1–0 Anna Blinkova 1–0 Vera Zvonareva 1–0 Kamilla Rakhimova 1–0 Iryna Shymanovich 1–0 Mirra Andreeva 1–0 Anastasia Potapova 1–0 Evgeniya Rodina 1–0 Markéta Vondroušová 1–0 Irina-Camelia Begu 1–0 Marie Bouzková 1–0 Linda Nosková 1–0 Tereza Martincová 1–0 Elise Mertens 1–0 Donna Vekić 1–0 Magda Linette 1–0 Lauren Davis 1–0 Jeļena Ostapenko 1–0 Paula Badosa 1–0 Camila Osorio 1–0 Mayar Sherif 1–0 Marta Kostyuk 1–0 Sloane Stephens 1–0 Elina Svitolina 1–0 Panna Udvardy 1–0 Varvara Gracheva 1–0 Petra Martić 1–0 Ann Li 1–0