Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka both swept this season's hard-court Grand Slams by following their Australian Open triumphs with US Open titles in September. The pair also won twin 1000-level titles in Cincinnati in the buildup to the New York major.
On Sunday, the superstars again reigned supreme on cement, this time in two Chinese cities. Sinner won his seventh tour-level title of the year (and his sixth on hard courts) at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, while Sabalenka took home her fourth title of 2024 (all on hard) at the WTA 1000 in Wuhan.
The results clinched ATP year-end No. 1 honors for Sinner and put Sabalenka in pole position to do the same on the WTA Tour.
Sinner beat Novak Djokovic, 7-6(4), 6-3, to deny the 2023 US Open champ his 100th professional singles title. The Italian also clinched the ATP's year-end No. 1 honors during his Shanghai run.
After improving to 8-2 against Top 5 opponents on hard courts this year, Sinner discussed how he has raised his game.
"I changed some things. I feel like physically I'm ready to play for a longer amount of time at the highest level possible," said Sinner, who lost excruciating five-setters at the US Open to Carlos Alcaraz in 2022 and Alexander Zverev in 2023. "Mentally I'm ready to accept every tough situation on the court, and I think that's the biggest step I have made forward."
Djokovic also praised the Italian, particularly for his improved serve and his aggressive baseline game, which takes time away from his opponents: “That's something that reminds me of myself throughout my career, that's what I've done for so many years consistently," said the Serb.
"Playing fast-paced tennis, taking away time from the opponent, kind of suffocating the opponent, in a certain way. You want your opponent to always feel under pressure from your shots, from your speed, from your presence on the court. So he's got that. This year he's been so consistent. It's really, really impressive."
Sabalenka won her third Wuhan crown in three appearances with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 final victory over Zheng Qinwen. Now 17-0 at the Chinese event, the 2018 and 2019 champ is the first woman to win three titles at the WTA 1000.
After beating Zheng decisively in straight sets on the way to each of her three Grand Slam titles—at the last two editions of the Australian Open (including the 2024 final) and this year in the New York quarterfinals—Sabalenka was pushed to the limit on the slower hard courts of Wuhan.
"I would say the conditions are probably a little bit better for her here," Sabalenka reflected. "It's much slower and the ball's getting heavier. She has more things to do on the court when it's slower."
Just as she did at the US Open, Sabalenka showed that her unmatched power is only one tool in her evolving arsenal.
"I can come to the net and I can finish point and then I can use my touch," she said of her improvement in other areas, speaking on the WTA Insider Podcast. "I've got some variation in my pocket. I just kept telling myself that if you're not going to be able to hit the ball, you're going to able to slice, to drop shot, to come to the net... I was just reminding myself that I have a lot of weapons, not only hitting the ball."
Behind her red-hot 24-3 run since Wimbledon, Sabalenka has surged to first place in the Race to the WTA Finals, putting her in prime position to finish year-end No. 1. She captured the WTA's No. 1 ranking for eight weeks in 2023, moving ahead of Iga Swiatek after her US Open runner-up finish, only for the Pole to reclaim the position at the WTA Finals.
"Really tight rankings right now," Sabalenka said. "Really nice to see. I always say of course it’s one of the goals, but I prefer to focus on myself and just keep working hard.
"We’ll see after the Finals if I was good enough this season to become world No. 1."
