Aryna Sabalenka doesn’t necessarily agree that she has an early advantage for the US Open because she is skipping the Paris Olympics as the current world No. 3 highlights she expects the likes of Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff to be fully ready when the time comes for the final Grand Slam of the year.
This week, Sabalenka is slated to return to action after injury and kick off her summer on hard courts at a WTA 500 in Washington. While Sabalenka is already in the United States, Swiatek and Gauff are competing on the clay courts of Roland Garros since they are participating in the ongoing Olympics. Meanwhile, Elena Rybakina was also scheduled to play in Paris but she had to withdraw late due to an illness.
When Sabalenka announced her Olympic withdrawal, she said it was “too much of the schedule.” And truth to be told, the Belarusian wasn’t the only player who skipped the Olympics because she didn’t want to go quickly from grass to clay and then from clay to hard.
While Sabalenka thinks she made the right decision, she doesn’t want to think that Swiatek and Gauff are or will be behind her in preparation for the US Open.