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Is Aryna Sabalenka the new Serena Williams? No. 2 seed demurs in Rome press

The reigning Mutua Madrid Open champ fielded a provocative question ahead of her return to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where she has her sights set on current No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

ByDavid Kane

Published May 09, 2023

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The two share a birthday—if not a cake—so it only makes sense that while ATP No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz is compared to the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, WTA No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka should face the Serena Williams question in Rome.

Armed with both the power and fighting spirit reminiscent of the recently-retired 23-time Grand Slam champion, who announced the imminent arrival of her second child at the 2023 Met Gala, Sabalenka nonetheless demurred when asked if she could indeed be The New Serena after winning her 13th career title at the Mutua Madrid Open.

“I don't know,” she mused at her Internazionali BNL d’Italia pre-tournament press conference. ”I don't think about that, [but] that sounds good, you know?

“I’m not focusing on that. I'm just focusing on improving myself and getting better every day. Yeah, that's it. I'm not really thinking about that.”

Still, she allowed a moment to marvel at the comparison.

“It sounds crazy and it sounds good to be really strong.”

Where the reigning Australian Open champion still has a ways to go to meet the bar set by the one and only Serena Williams, Sabalenka enters the second major clay-court tournament of 2023 with the No. 1 ranking firmly in her sights—trailing Iga Swiatek by less than 2000 points.

Facing off at the Caja Magica for a second week in a row, Sabalenka avenged a Porsche Tennis Grand Prix defeat in Stuttgart to not only score her first win over Swiatek on clay but also stake her claim as Swiatek’s first major rival for No. 1 since the Pole earned the ranking last spring.

“I'm doing everything I can to get closer not like to her but to my dream,” said Sabalenka, who cited Swiatek as an inspiration to improve her fitness after three straight losses to the 21-year-old in 2022. “I'm working really hard. I'm trying to stay focused on every match, every tournament. That's what I really want to do.

“Hopefully, yeah, I can get as close as I can or probably even - how to say…overtake.”

Sabalenka’s next hurdle towards that takeover will be against either former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin or Cristina Bucșa later this week.