Players to win Australian Open women's singles title without dropping a set this century

Published at :April 6, 2024 at 11:50 AM

Modified at :April 6, 2024 at 11:50 AM

(Courtesy : AP/AFP)

Sabalenka successfully defended her title without dropping a set.

Aryna Sabalenka showed her dominance in tennis by winning the Australian Open women’s singles final on Saturday. She overcame the Chinese 12th seed Zheng Qinwen with a powerful performance, beating her 6-3 6-2 in just 76 minutes.

She became the ninth woman in the Open Era to defend her singles title, and the fifth woman to claim the Australian Open trophy without losing a set since 2000. Let’s take a look at the other women who achieved this feat in the first Grand Slam of the century.

Lindsay Davenport (Australian Open 2000)

The 2000 Australian Open final saw the second seed Lindsay Davenport defeat the top seed Martina Hingis 6-1, 7-5, without losing a single set in the 88th edition of the event. Hingis seemed to lose her edge over Davenport in their rivalry, struggling to maintain any trace of her 97–early 98 supremacy.

Maria Sharapova (Australian Open 2008)

The Russian was only 20 years old then, but she had already claimed two Grand Slam titles and the number one ranking. She had an amazing fortnight, beating four of the top eleven players in the world without conceding a set, and reached the Grand Slam final again. She overcame No. 3 Jelena Jankovic in the last four and ended top-ranked Justine Henin’s 32-match winning run in the last eight.

Sharapova, the fifth seed and 2007 runner-up there, secured her third Grand Slam trophy in 2008 by overcoming Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic, the No. 4 seed, 7-5, 6-3 in the Australian Open final.

Serena Williams (Australian Open 2017)

Serena Williams beat her sister Venus Williams 6–4, 6–4 to win the 2017 Australian Open women’s singles title, without losing a set or a tie break in the tournament. She clinched her seventh Melbourne crown and 23rd Grand Slam overall, breaking the record of the legendary Steffi Graf. She also reclaimed her World No. 1 spot from Angelique Kerber.

The game was tied at 2-2 after three consecutive double faults in a tense game. Serena had broken serve in the first and third games, but gave it back each time. She broke again for 4-3 with a brilliant drop volley and a powerful forehand winner, creating the decisive moment of the set. She held her serve this time. She converted her sixth break point of the set with a superb return to lead 4-3. The older sister sealed the match with her best serving game, winning 5-3.

Ash Barty (Australian Open 2022)

Ash Barty clinched the 2022 title at Rod Laver Arena by beating American Danielle Collins 6-3 7-6(2) in a thrilling final. Barty had a strong start and won the first game. She was the first local player to reach this stage in an Australian Open women’s singles tournament in 42 years.

The games went with serve early on, with Barty breaking ahead (4–2) in the sixth game. Barty was dominating on the serve, with five aces and 94% of the first serve points. Collins, who only put 38% of the returns in play, was finding it hard to adjust. Barty sealed her remarkable victory in 87 minutes by taking the tiebreaker with a forehand winner and lifting her third Grand Slam.

Aryna Sabalenka (Australian Open 2024)

Aryna Sabalenka achieved a flawless title defense at the Australian Open 2024, becoming the first woman since Victoria Azarenka in 2012–13 to repeat as the champion in Melbourne. She did not lose a single set throughout the tournament.

She had an impressive record of winning 26 out of 27 sets at Melbourne Park, dating back to her historic run the previous year. The only set she dropped was in the 2023 final

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