Aryna Sabalenka joined an exclusive club of the game’s best with another straight-sets triumph at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
The world No.1 eased past Bai Zhuoxuan 6-3 6-1 to advance to the third round, despite the Chinese qualifier showing signs of a fightback from 0-5 down in the first set.
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Sabalenka has now won 45 of her last 50 sets in singles at the Australian Open, a feat just four other women in the Open era have achieved at the tournament.
The only others to have won more sets in a half-century streak at the AO are Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles and Serena Williams.
“That sounds crazy and surreal to be honest,” Sabalenka told reporters in Melbourne when asked how it felt to be part of such company.
“I never thought that people will compare me to these names even though I’m really far away from their achievements.”
“It motivates me to keep doing my thing. And it just means for me that I’m on the right way.”
| Player | Best win streak out of 50 sets at AO |
|---|---|
| Steffi Graf | 49 |
| Martina Hingis | 47 |
| Monica Seles | 46 |
| Serena Williams | 46 |
| Aryna Sabalenka | 45 |
Just seven other women have earned at least 45 sets out of a 50-set run across all Grand Slam events in the Open era. Former world No.1 Graf is the only one to have done it at each of the four majors.
Sabalenka’s victory also triggered several more records that underline her dominance on tour over the past five years.
She extended a remarkable run of reaching at least the third round at every Grand Slam she has contested since Australian Open 2021, making it 19 in a row. Sabalenka missed Wimbledon in 2022 and 2024.
Joining yet another top-tier group, Wednesday’s triumph was also Sabalenka’s 25th women’s singles Grand Slam match win as world No.1, making her just the sixth player to achieve this since 2000.
The only other players to have done so are Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin, Ash Barty and Iga Swiatek.
Among active players to have played at least 10 matches, Sabalenka currently holds the highest singles win percentage on Grand Slam hardcourts at 84.2 per cent.