ONE LAST PUSH: Sabalenka wants to end season on top

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Aryna Sabalenka said she wants to cap off a stellar year by returning to the top of the world rankings.

The world No. 2 is the top seed at the China Open this week following the withdrawal of top-ranked Iga Swiatek, the defending champion, because of undisclosed “personal matters.”

Fresh from winning the US Open, Sabalenka can take a large step towards overhauling the Pole at the top of the rankings with victory in Beijing.

“Of course, that’s one of my goals, to finish the season as world No. 1,” the Belarusian, who won the Australian Open at the start of the year for a second time, said.

But the 26-year-old added: “I’m not trying to focus on that, I’m trying to focus on my game. There are only three tournaments left.”

“I’m just trying to bring my best tennis on court. After the season, I’ll see if it was enough to finish the year at number one or have to improve something else to get to No. 1.”

The three-time major champion first became world No. 1 a year ago, before being usurped by Swiatek.

“To be called the best player in the world, that means everything. It’s good to know that you’ve been doing the right thing, all of that hours of training, wasn’t a waste of time,” she said.

Sabalenka will be playing for the first time since beating Jessica Pegula in the final in New York earlier this month. She has a bye in the first round.

Pegula also features at the prestigious 1000 WTA hardcourt event in the Chinese capital, along with fellow American Coco Gauff, four-time major champion Naomi Osaka and China’s Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.

The competition begins on Wednesday.

A men’s ATP 500 event runs alongside the women’s tournament.

Meanwhile, world No. 4 Elena Rybakina withdrew from the Asian swing of the WTA Tour with a back problem.

She will miss the last two WTA 1000 tournaments of the season in Beijing, which starts next week, and in Wuhan next month.

“Due to an ongoing back injury, I regretfully have to withdraw from the upcoming Asian tournaments,” the 25-year old Kazakh said in a statement on the WTA website.

“While I’ve been working hard on my recovery, my medical team and I have decided it’s best to prioritize my health at this time.”

Rybakina said she hoped to be fit for the season-ending WTA Finals, which features the year’s eight best players in Riyadh on 2 to 9 November.

She is third in the qualifying standings.

“This has been a challenging year,” she said.

“My team and I will work on getting me back on the court before the season finale.”

Rybakina won three WTA 500 titles at the start of the season in Brisbane, Abu Dhabi and Stuttgart and reached the finals of the WTA 1000 events in Doha and Miami.

She reached the second round at the Australian Open, the quarter-finals of the French Open and the semifinals at Wimbledon but had to withdraw before her second match at the US Open with a back injury.

She has not played competitively since.