Road to the WTA Finals: Aryna Sabalenka

Editor's note: From Monday to Thursday this week, we will look at the road each of the eight singles players and eight doubles took to qualify for this year's WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas. 

Singles

Monday: No.1 Swiatek | No.2 Jabeur

Tuesday: No.3 Pegula | No.4 Gauff

Wednesday: No.5 Sakkari | No.6 Garcia

Thursday: No.7 Sabalenka | No.8 Kasatkina

Doubles

Monday: No.1 Krejcikova and Siniakova | No.2 Dabrowski and Olmos

Tuesday: No.3 Pegula and Gauff | No.4 Mertens and Kudermetova

Wednesday: No.5 Kichenok and Ostapenko | No.6 Yang and Xu

Thursday: No.7 Haddad Maia and Danilina  | No.8 Schuurs and Krawczyk

Aryna Sabalenka high-octane game is as intimidating as any other player on the WTA Tour, and it remained so even as she played much of 2022 struggling with one of her biggest weapons, her serve. Sabalenka proved her resilience and resourcefulness to finish in the Top 10 for the third consecutive season. She's the only player on tour with those bragging rights.

"I definitely had a really, really tough season," Sabalenka said in New York. "But at the same time I really appreciate this season because it showed me even if something is not working for me, I'll be able to fight no matter what. It just shows me how good as a competitor I am."

For the second consecutive season, Sabalenka was a formidable challenge regardless of the surface. A year after winning Madrid, she made the Stuttgart final and Rome semifinal. On grass she made her 17th career final in 's-Hertogenbosch. 

And on her favorite surface, hard courts, she booked semifinal appearances in Cincinnati and the US Open. In each instance, it took the title-winning form of her opponents to stop her. 

Season highlights:

- US Open semifinal, becoming the first player to make back-to-back US Open semifinals since Serena Williams (2019, 2020)
- Two WTA 1000 semifinals in Rome and Cincinnati
- Two final appearances, in Stuttgart and 's-Hertogenbosch
- One of three players to begin the season in the Top 10 and not drop out