Aryna Sabalenka made history on Saturday, becoming only the fifth woman in tennis history to complete the ‘Sunshine Double.’
Sabalenka proved too strong for American number one Coco Gauff, defeating the 21-year-old 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in Florida.
The Belarusian has been in dominant form to start the year, and is quickly cementing her status as one of the best players to grace the WTA Tour.
How many Grand Slams will Aryna Sabalenka win this year?
She looks unstoppable right now!
Speaking of the greatest, many consider Serena Williams to be the greatest female player in tennis history.
So, how does Aryna Sabalenka’s WTA 1000 record at 27 years old compare to Serena Williams’?
Aryna Sabalenka has won more WTA 1000 titles than Serena Williams at 27 years old
At 27 years old, Aryna Sabalenka has won an impressive 11 WTA 1000 titles.
The Belarusian won her first WTA 1000 title at the 2018 Wuhan Open, defeating Anett Kontaveit in the final.
Since then, Sabalenka has secured titles in Qatar, Madrid, Cincinnati, Miami and Indian Wells.
The only WTA 1000 events Sabalenka has not won are the Dubai Tennis Championships, Canadian Open, China Open and the Italian Open.
Remarkably, Serena Williams had won fewer WTA 1000 titles by the time she turned 28 years old.
By the time Serena turned 28 years old on September 26, 2009, the American had won 10 WTA 1000 titles.
Of course, one cannot relay this comparison without noting Serena’s absence from many WTA 1000 tournaments during her career.
What would happen if Serena Williams played Aryna Sabalenka in 2025?
To demonstrate this point, one must note that Serena competed in the Wuhan Open only once, and did not participate in the Indian Wells event between 2002 and 2014.
Serena won her first WTA 1000 title at the 1999 Indian Wells Open, defeating Steffi Graf in the final.
17 years later, Serena won her last. The American tennis legend won the Italian Open, beating Madison Keys in the final.
Serena Williams’ reaction to winning her final WTA 1000 title
“Yeah, I think she’s such a powerful player,” Serena said after beating Madison Keys 7-6, 6-3 in the 2016 Italian Open final.
“Obviously going in, I knew that, but I was just trying,” she added.
“I think I was pretty much able to just get back what I could, you know, and that’s all I was trying to do was just to go out there and be consistent, and, yeah, make my shots.”
She later tipped Keys to achieve the world number one ranking, adding: “I think Madison is a great player. I really do. I always have.
“I feel like she has potential to be the best in the world and that is number one. Yeah, absolutely.”