{"id":113376,"date":"2025-08-27T09:04:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T09:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/113376\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T09:04:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T09:04:09","slug":"aryna-sabalenka-names-her-five-favorite-tennis-players-of-all-time-with-no-room-for-novak-djokovic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/113376\/","title":{"rendered":"Aryna Sabalenka names her five favorite tennis players of all\u00a0time with no room for Novak Djokovic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Aryna Sabalenka is fast becoming one of the greatest players of her generation.<\/p>\n<p>The Belarusian star has now held the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/wta\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">WTA<\/a> number one ranking for 45 consecutive weeks and has spent over a year total atop the world rankings.<\/p>\n<p>She is also a three-time Grand Slam champion and has come close to adding to her tally in 2025, losing in the final of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/australian-open\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Australian Open<\/a> and French Open.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2195841092-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Aryna Sabalenka wipes away tears after losing to Madison Keys in the 2025 Australian Open final\" class=\"wp-image-62949\" \/>Photo by Cameron Spencer\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Undeniably one of the best players in the women\u2019s game, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/aryna-sabalenka\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sabalenka\u2019s<\/a> stock continues to rise.<\/p>\n<p>She may well be some fans\u2019 favorite player already, but who did Sabalenka pick as her top-five favorite tennis players of all time?<\/p>\n<p>Aryna Sabalenka names Serena Williams and Roger Federer in her top-five favorite players<\/p>\n<p>During a sit-down interview with \u2018Boardroom\u2019, Sabalenka named her top-five favorite tennis players of all time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDefinitely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/roger-federer\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">[Roger] Federer<\/a>. [Rafael] Nadal, the hard work he put in is crazy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/serena-williams\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Serena [Williams]<\/a>, the way she dominated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSteffi Graf, I love her so much. And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/andre-agassi\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">[Andre] Agassi<\/a>. That family is the best!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aryna Sabalenka\u2019s favorite playersRoger FedererRafael NadalAndre AgassiSerena WilliamsSteffi Graf<\/p>\n<p>Sabalenka\u2019s list is strong, naming five of the greatest players to have ever set foot on a tennis court.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"648\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2230650795-1024x648.jpg\" alt=\"Aryna Sabalenka speaks to the media ahead of the 2025 US Open\" class=\"wp-image-124353\" \/>Photo by Robert Prange\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>All five won multiple Grand Slam titles and held the number-one ranking for over a year, a feat very few can say they\u2019ve accomplished.<\/p>\n<p>PlayerGrand Slam singles titlesWeeks at #1Career titlesOlympic medalsSerena Williams2331973Gold x 4 (2000 doubles, 2008 doubles, 2012 singles, 2012 doubles)Steffi Graf22377107Gold x 1 (1988 singles), Silver x 1 (1992 singles), Bronze x 1 (1988 doubles)Rafael Nadal2220992Gold x 2 (2008 singles, 2016 doubles)Roger Federer20310103Gold x 1 (2008 doubles) Silver x 1 (2012 singles)Andre Agassi810160Gold x 1 (1996 singles)Comparing the career achievements of Aryna Sabalenka\u2019s top-five players<\/p>\n<p>The only notable omission from Sabalenka\u2019s top five is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/novak-djokovic\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Novak Djokovic<\/a>, arguably the greatest tennis player of all time.<\/p>\n<p>Winning more Grand Slam titles than anyone in history (24) and holding the number-one ranking for more weeks than anyone (428), the numbers certainly point to the Serb deserving a place in anyone\u2019s top five.<\/p>\n<p>Her decision to leave out Djokovic is particularly shocking, as they seem to have a strong relationship on tour.<\/p>\n<p>Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic\u2019s 2025 antics<\/p>\n<p>After Sabalenka went viral for dancing down the stairs following her wins at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/french-open\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Roland Garros<\/a> earlier this year, Djokovic replied with a dance of his own.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about that\u2026. [Aryna] Sabalenka,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Stealing Sabalenka\u2019s thunder once more\u2026 Djokovic interrupted the Belarusian\u2019s pre-Wimbledon press conference a month later, as the pair joked about their practice session.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst of all, let me ask you this question: what did you think about hitting with me? How do you see my level? Good?\u201d asked Sabalenka.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think you have the potential, you\u2019re a really talented player, you have nice strokes, good technique, but can I be honest?\u201d replied Djokovic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re lacking intensity on the court, you don\u2019t have enough intensity, it\u2019s too flat, you need to liven up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReally, that\u2019s what you\u2019re going to say right now?\u201d said Sabalenka as the media room laughed at the exchange.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore, this guy was my favorite player, but not anymore, obviously.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Leaving the room, Sabalenka had a message for the journalists before they questioned Djokovic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHave fun, please be hard on him,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps that exchange saw Djokovic slip out of Sabalenka\u2019s top-five\u2026<\/p>\n<p>From the outside, it certainly looks like Sabalenka and Djokovic get along, with both players full of laughter whenever they meet on and off the court.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019d surely love nothing more than to celebrate together with the US Open title next month, although both players will be more than aware of the task at hand.<\/p>\n<p>Who will Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic play next at the US Open?<\/p>\n<p>When Sabalenka beat Masarova and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/news\/andy-roddick-has-concern-for-novak-djokovic-ahead-of-his-second-round-match-at-the-us-open\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Djokovic beat Learner Tien<\/a> in their opening matches, they advanced to the round of 64.<\/p>\n<p>There, Sabalenka and Djokovic will play two more lower-ranked opponents and will be expected to win in straight sets.<\/p>\n<p>US Open 2R \u2013 Aryna Sabalenka v Polina Kudermetova (WTA #67)US Open 2R \u2013 Novak Djokovic v Zachary Svajda (ATP #145)<\/p>\n<p>Both players will contest their second-round matches on Wednesday, August 27, as they continue their bid to win the US Open title.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aryna Sabalenka is fast becoming one of the greatest players of her generation. The Belarusian star has now&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[652,433,99,428,654],"class_list":{"0":"post-113376","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-aryna-sabalenka","9":"tag-novak-djokovic","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-tennis","12":"tag-wta"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}