Aryna Sabalenka was getting ready for her U.S. Open Round of 16 match when she was alerted that she was the new women's world No. 1.
The 25-year-old Belarusian star checked her phone immediately upon waking up on Monday morning and found out the exciting news.
"I was in my room and I woke up and opened my phone and I was a little shocked how many messages I've gotten," Sabalenka said in an exclusive interview with NBC Local Sports on Tuesday.
Sabalenka secured the top-ranking spot following Iga Swiatek's Round of 16 loss to Jelena Ostapenko on Sunday night. The Pole had spent 75 consecutive weeks in the No. 1 spot.
"All day [Monday] I kept telling myself 'don't think about that, don't think about that, you have a match today, you have things to do this week. You'll think about this next week and just focus on the use of one right now,'" Sabalenka said.
When the new ranking list adjusts on Monday, Sept. 11, following the U.S. Open, Sabalenka will be the 29th woman to capture the women's No.1 ranking and just the eighth player to have earned both the singles and doubles top spots during their career.
"Reaching the WTA World No.1 singles ranking is something I have dreamed of ever since I was a little girl when I started playing tennis," Sabalenka said. "2023 has been such an incredible year for me and my team and this is the perfect reward for all our hard work. It’s an unbelievable feeling to join the amazing list of other WTA players to achieve this and it’s a huge honor to be able to call myself the No.1 singles player in the world."
The sky is the limit for Sabalenka who is still in the early years of her career. One person who has inspired her during this year's U.S. Open is Caroline Wozniacki, who had an incredible comeback to tennis after having two children.
Sabalenka said she would "probably one day" consider this trajectory if she and her partner Konstantin Koltsov decided to have children.
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"It's really such an inspiration and it gives all of us belief that one day we can have family and come back and still perform at the high level," Sabalenka said. "So I'm really thankful for that."
The Maestro Dobel Tequila-sponsored athlete Sabalenka will next set her sights on the U.S. Open quarterfinals. She will face China's Qinwen Zheng on Wednesday at 12 p.m. ET for a spot in the U.S. Open semifinals.
