The single improvement that made Aryna Sabalenka unstoppable in 2026

Aryna Sabalenka has been in a class of her own on the WTA Tour this season.

The Belarusian, already a four-time Grand Slam champion, has dropped just one match out of 24 so far in 2024.

That defeat came at the hands of Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final.

Since then, she’s barely put a foot wrong, going on to win both Indian Wells and the Miami Open to complete the ‘sunshine double’.

The statistics behind Sabalenka’s season help explain why she’s been so hard to beat lately.

How Aryna Sabalenka’s serve has evolved in 2026

A closer look at Sabalenka’s numbers on Tennis Abstract shows just how much her serve has improved across the board.

Compared to last year, she’s holding serve more often, hitting a higher percentage of aces, and cutting down on double faults.

She’s also landing more first serves and winning a greater share of points on both her first and second serves. Overall, she’s winning 5.8 per cent more service points than she did in 2025.

Sabalenka’s progress is even more impressive when you consider where she started. Early in her career, double-digit double faults weren’t uncommon for her.

But with the help of biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan, she managed to turn things around. Since then, her serve has become one of the most reliable weapons on the WTA Tour.

Aryna Sabalenka said she wanted to dominate like Serena Williams

During an interview with Arab News in 2024, Sabalenka spoke openly about her ambition to become a more dominant force on the WTA Tour.

Williams’ career dominance is well documented, highlighted by her record of 23 Grand Slam singles titles.

Swiatek had her own run of dominance as well. Her 37-match win streak at the start of the 2022 season remains the longest in this century on the WTA Tour.

“I always wanted to dominate the tour like Serena [Williams] did one day, like what Iga was able to do for so long,” said Sabalenka.

“And she’s [Swiatek] still close, it’s all going to be decided after this tournament, so who knows?

“But it’s really inspiring and I want to dominate tour like they did. But I’m trying to focus on myself, on improving myself, and make sure that I have all of the tools to dominate the tour as they did.

Sabalenka also spoke about what leadership means to her beyond just tennis: “Being a leader is tough, but I think it’s a great opportunity to help the sport, to fight for like equal prize money, to show the world and to help countries like where we are [Saudi Arabia] to improve quality of life for women.

“It’s a responsibility, it’s a good opportunity to speak up for women. I like to have this responsibility and I like to represent women’s sport as strong and powerful – women who can fight for their rights.”

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