Aryna Sabalenka’s 2026 season is over, and she will likely be glad of it.
After all, having started the year as the world number one and heavy favourite to compete for all four Grand Slams, she will instead end it without a single major title.
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The highlight of her campaign came when the Belarusian completed the Sunshine Double, winning both Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back.
It marked a vital bounce back after losing the Australian Open final, and suggested to the rest of the WTA Tour that she would not go out without a fight.
Sadly, this would represent the last piece of silverware Aryna Sabalenka would win in 2026, with her exit from the WTA Finals round robin representing a dire end to an underwhelming year.
Aryna Sabalenka crashes out of the WTA Finals in group stages
When Elena Rybakina withdrew from the WTA Finals, many felt this was a golden opportunity for Sabalenka.
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After all, it was the current world number one who had consistently thwarted her over the last 12 months, including in the final of last year’s WTA Finals, as well as both the Australian and US Open finals.
However, she would not have even had the chance to face her in the knockout rounds, having crashed out in the group stages.
A narrow opening win over Karolina Muchova represented a solid start, but against Mirra Andreeva, the 28-year-old once again came unstuck.
Despite leading 4-1 in the first set, she conceded five straight games before being bagelled in the second set.
Elina Svitolina then compounded her misery and stole her qualification spot by beating her last night.
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Sabalenka insisted she was not worried after her heavy loss to Andreeva. It will be interesting to see whether her stance has changed after now losing to Svitolina.
Aryna Sabalenka’s worrying trend that has developed in 2026
Sabalenka has suffered some heavy defeats in her career, but it feels like they have come more frequently in 2026.
And, whilst the nature of these losses was not overwhelming, it was astounding to see how she faded as these encounters went on.
Her loss to Andreeva represented a shocking outcome, but it was not an isolated incident.
One of the world’s very best players also suffered a 6-0 scoreline in the final sets of matches against Jessica Pegula and Diana Shnaider this year too.
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However, what is perhaps even more worrying is the narrow losses Sabalenka is suffering.
Against Rybakina in the Australian Open final, she had her chances, but lost the third set 6-4.
Against Hailey Baptiste in Madrid, she led by a break in the third set, served for the match, and eventually lost in a tiebreak.
Against Sorana Cirstea, the Romanian came from a set down to beat Sabalenka in Rome.
These are just three examples of where she has failed to come up with her best tennis in the biggest moments, which is not what we are used to from a player of her calibre.
Both in terms of these drubbings and these narrow defeats, a big problem is developing for Sabalenka ahead of 2027.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
