Aryna Sabalenka becomes first player since 2016 to reach semi-finals of Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon in same year

Published at :July 13, 2023 at 6:36 PM

Modified at :December 13, 2023 at 1:01 PM

(Courtesy : Wimbledon)

Serena Williams was the last player to achieve this feat of making final four stage of the first three majors in a year.

Aryna Sabalenka has created a new record at Wimbledon 2023. The Belarusian has made it to the semi-finals of three major Grand Slams this year. She started off this season by winning the Australian Open 2023 defeating her Kazakh opponent Elena Rybakina over three sets (4-6, 6-3, 6-4). It was also her maiden singles Grand Slam trophy.

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Following this, she again made it to the semi-finals of the French Open 2023. However, this time her journey ended right at the semi-final mark. She lost to Czech Karolina Muchova in a three-set battle. Aryna came into Wimbledon with that same energy and momentum.

The tall and powerful Belarusian has finished all but one of her games in straight sets at the grass lawns. Her quarter-final victory was over the 25th seed Madison Keys and it marked an astonishing achievement for her. The 25-year-old rattled her American opponent with her huge serves and powerful ground strokes.

"It really feels amazing to be back in the semi-finals. I can't wait to play in my second semi-final at Wimbledon and hopefully I can do better than the last time," said Aryna in her post match interview referring to her semi-finals exit in the 2021 edition of Wimbledon at the hands of Karolina Pliskova.

Aryna was banned from last year's Wimbledon because of the blanket ban imposed on Russian and Belarusian players amidst Russian's invasion of Ukraine. This also means that Sabalenka touched the record of the legendary Serena Williams, who earned the same distinction in 2016.

However, the road ahead won't be easy as the sixth seed Ons Jabeur is waiting for her in the semi-finals. Despite that Aryna has every reason to be confident. The year has turned around spectacularly for her and if things go the way they are we might see her on the verge of another Grand Slam final this year.