Victoria Azarenka makes controversial Aryna Sabalenka comment at US Open

Victoria Azarenka shared a controversial Aryna Sabalenka opinion following the 26-year-old’s emphatic US Open title victory on Saturday night.

Sabalenka only needed two sets to get the job done against Jessica Pegula, with the Belarussian triumphing 7-5, 7-5 on the iconic Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The result came as little surprise given Sabalenka had been in imperious form throughout the competition, dropping just one set throughout her seven US Open matches en route to victory.

It rounds off a stellar year as far as Grand Slams are concerned for Sabalenka, given she started 2024 by winning the Australian Open in Melbourne.

A machine in the hard-court game, fellow tennis star and former world No.1 Azarenka took to social media to congratulate her countrywoman, posting on X: “Amazing win for @SabalenkaA. Congratulations. Best player in the world this season!”

However, the claim wasn’t met with full agreement by some tennis fans, with many claiming Iga Swiatek had been overlooked for the ‘best player in the world’ tag.

Commenting on X, @tennis_reporter said: “No, still @iga_swiatek is the best, let the season get over first.”

@Ars_treyUg replied: “Best player in the world, nah that hype aren't necessary.”

@tjetjeidrott claimed: “Slams are more important but that's kinda disrespectful and unnecessary.”

@katarzyna_p1 added: “In terms of Slams - Aryna is the best. But when you look at the whole season the most consistent player is Iga. Just is worth to put some perspective.”

It’s true, Sabalenka has more Slam wins this year (2) than Swiatek, whose only major championship win came at the French Open in June.

But despite Swiatek boasting the official world No.1 spot ahead of Sabalenka, there were plenty who agreed with Azarenka’s take.

@moyes4ever chimed in with: “People seething in the comments but she's [Sabalenka] won 2 slams to Iga's 1, and going into the Asian swing is only 400 points behind after missing a Slam, she's almost certainly gonna be year-end number 1, it's not wrong.”

While @lastdanceszn responded: “Someone should tell 1ga fans that you can be #1 and not be the best player in the world.”

Plenty of time remains this year for the now three-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka to climb above Swiatek in the WTA rankings.

Players will soon head over to Asia, with the Chinese Open the next big ticket event on the tennis schedule, before the WTA Finals take place in Saudi Arabia later this year.