Iga Świątek and Aryna Sabalenka are already very close to each other in the WTA ranking. There is still a Pole in the leader’s seat, but the Belarusian has already shown that she feels really good in the chasing role and can take advantage of the lack of pressure on her shoulders. Currently, the difference between the ladies is less than 1,000 points. Świątek has exactly 9,770 of them, and Sabalenka 8,905. So the distance is very small and easy to close.

Especially since the season is starting when Iga Świątek will defend several titles. The competition in Qatar comes first. A year ago in Doha, the Pole was unrivaled and in the final she simply demolished Jessica Pegula. At that time in Qatar we did not see Aryna Sabalenka, who was resting after winning the Australian Open a few weeks earlier. Therefore, this year it would not defend a single point in Doha.

There are exactly 1,000 of them at stake in Qatar. So if Sabalenka came to Qatar, she could think about taking away Iga’s position as the leader of the world ranking. The Pole saves a thousand points, and the Belarusian could add the same number to her account. Therefore, it is easy to calculate that with the difference, which is currently less than a thousand points, Sabalenka could jump into the leader’s place after the tournament in Qatar.

But that’s definitely not going to happen. Sabalenka decided to withdraw from the tournament in Doha. For the second year in a row, the Belarusian is taking a longer break and will not appear on Qatari courts when she competes in the WTA 1000 event, which is the second most important event in the entire series.