The camera was taking in a sun-courted court and a beautiful Hobart bay behind it. The serenity of the scene was a quiet contrast to the ferocious shots coming from the racket of her opponent. "You wonder how the ball stays intact,"spoke the incredulous commentator. It was round one of the Hobart International 2018 and Eugenie Bouchard just happened to have the misfortune to draw Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus whose shots, I think, must leave grooves in the court wherever they land, inside the court or, too often in her young career, outside the court putting the lines judges and ball kids and even the people in the courtside seats in some danger. Shooting as straight as you can she says, "I just try to hit the ball as hard as I can."
I first saw Sabalenka in her Fed Cup semi-final against Victorija Golubic who, to me, has the most elegant, sexy, one-hand backhand on tour. It was a rousing, horn-blown match that Sabalenka took in three gripping sets, defeating Switzerland and sending Belarus into the 2017 Fed Cup final against the US. Sabalenka and her compatriot, Aliaksandra Sasnovic, who just rode her new-born attention from the Fed Cup into the final at Brisbane, and without Victoria Azarenka, had carried Belarus through the maze of zones and groups to World Group I reaching the Fed Cup final for the first time in their history. Sabalenka was on my radar.
She turned pro at 15. At the end of 2015 she was ranked #548. At the end of 2016 - #155. She ended 2017 ranked #78 and coming off her quarterfinal appearance in Shenzhen has risen to #69. So in approximately one year she has climbed 86 spots and put herself in the main draw for the Australian Open. Her rapid move up the ranks in 2017 included her first main draw appearance in a slam reaching the second round of Wimbledon where she lost to Carina Witthoeft. Her rise accelerated as she went on toward year's end to reach the semifinals in Tashkent, the final in Tianjin where she lost to Maria Sharapova, and then, after defeating Sloane Stephens in Belarus's 3-2 Fed Cup loss to the US, she went on to win her first WTA tournament in Mumbai in late November. She was now on many people's radar.
Looking to the Australian Open, Maria Sharapova and the outrageously free-swatting Camila Giorgi aside but not necessarily, Aryna Sabalenka will absolutely be the most dangerous floater in the draw. Whoever draws her in the first round may not want to completely unpack her bags. This is a young woman who almost comes out of her shoes when she swings and relentlessly continues to move toward the net as her opponents are blown back by the sheer force of her shots in high-intensity games that leave her opponents sometimes flailing just to get a few square inches of racket on the ball.
Having said that, you could see in her lopsided loss to Halep in the Shenzhen quarterfinal, her lack of game maturity and the need for, not just more variation, but the cultivating of a blend of power, nuance, and subtlety creating a complete game that is the hallmark of great players. However, I feel she does have the potential to be one of the best in this new generation of women, perhaps even the next great player in the women's game. And she's only 19. My God.
Eugenie Bouchard comes back on court looking to get Sabalenka "out of her rhythm." Resorting to slices, lobs, drop shots and off-pace shots is not really Bouchard's game. Sabalenka's rhythm remained intact. At match point the overpowered Bouchard flailed at a deep-drive return from Sabalenka and it was game, set, match Sabalenka and she was on to the next round. In her interviews Sabalenka said, "When is the next one? I wanna go back on court. I want to beat someone."
Apparently she just did. As of this writing, she just beat the #1 Hobart seed Zhang Shuai 7-6. 6-4. Having zinged Zhang she has put herself in the quarterfinals against Lesia Tsurenko. I looked over the remaining field, and, with all respects to the players in that field, Sabalenka has a good chance to
to win her second WTA Tournament.
Her's is not just another blip on the tennis radar. It is a robust signal that's saying... "I'm coming."
Anyway, that's how I see it.
Here is a clip from Sabalenka's first-round victory over Bouchard at the Hobart International 2018:
