BELARUSIAN Aryna Sabalenka is one of the rising stars of women’s tennis. After finishing 2018 with eight wins over top 10 opponents and the 11th overall ranking, she came into 2019 with lofty expectations.

Sabalenka won three titles this year, all of which took place in China (WTA Elite Trophy, Shenzhen Open and Wuhan Open) She reached a career-high ranking of ninth in February, but failed to maintain this due to poor Grand Slam performances. Sabalenka was upset by American teenager Amanda Anisimova at the Australian and French Opens in the third and second rounds respectively, then lost her opening round match at Wimbledon to 139th ranked Magdalena Rybarikova 6-2 6-4. At the US Open, she lost in the second round to Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva 6-3 7-6.

Thanks to strong performances at minor hard court tournaments, Sabelenka had a positive 2019 win-loss of 39-22 and remains ranked 11th overall. Her shot selection continues to improve, and her rapid serve and powerful groundstrokes are major weapons. She must improve her Grand Slam performances before being considered one of the top female players in the world, but the 21-year-old has enormous potential and her best should challenge top ten players in 2020.