Aryna Sabalenka is close to overtaking Iga Swiatek at No. 1 and did not hide what it would mean to her. However, Sabalenka also had kind words about the Pole and their rivalry.

In her first stint as the world No. 1, Sabalenka spent a total of eight weeks as Swiatek reclaimed the position following her victory at the 2023 WTA Finals. Since then, the Pole has been the top-ranked player in the game without any changes while the Belarusian briefly lost the No. 2 position in mid-2023 to Coco Gauff.

World number two Aryna Sabalenka said on Wednesday she believes her rivalry with top-ranked Iga Swiatek is "much-needed" in women's tennis.

The Belarusian has a chance to close the gap on the Polish world No 1 in Wuhan, with the battle for top spot likely to be settled in Riyadh.

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka battled her way into the Wuhan Open third round by beating Katerina Siniakova 6-4 6-4.

Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka recorded a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Czech Katerina Siniakova in the second round of the Wuhan Open on Wednesday in China. Sabalenka followed up a first-round bye by benefitting from seven double faults by Siniakova to win the match in 94 minutes and improve to 13-0 all-time in Wuhan.

Iga Swiatek has not played a match since her one-sided quarter-final loss to Jessica Pegula at the U.S. Open and she has now withdrawn from the tournament in Wuhan.