Aug 31, 2025; Flushing, NY, USA; Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus celebrates her victory over Cristina Bucsa of Spain in the fourth round of the women’s singles at the US Open at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

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Aryna Sabalenka Set to Retain World No. 1 Ranking After US Open 2025 With Dominant Round of 16 Win

Swiatek & Gauff are looking to hunt down Sabalenka for the year-end No. 1 ranking.

The Belarusian queen of the WTA, Aryna Sabalenka produced another assured performance in the US Open 2025 Round of 16 on Sunday. The 27-year-old made light work of Spaniard Cristina Bucsa 6-1 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals. In the process, the top seed confirmed that she is set to retain the No. 1 ranking after Flushing Meadows – pipping Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.

Sabalenka came out all guns blazing, winning five straight games from 1-1 to grab the opener 6-1 in just 27 minutes. Bucsa struggled to handle the power of her three-time Grand Slam winning opponent, and offered several neutral balls which Sabalenka put away with ease. The defending champ won 84% points on first serve, as well as 79% points on second serve on Sunday. Sabalenka will now face former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the last eight.

Aryna Sabalenka Will Remain World No. 1 After US Open 2025

With the win, Sabalenka now enters the quarterfinals in New York for the fifth consecutive year. All of her previous appearances culminated in a result of semifinals or better. Yet to drop a set throughout the tournament thus far, the Belarusian continued her dominance. World No. 95 Bucsa could showcase minimal resistance after going down, and the formalities were completed within 73 minutes.

By reaching the quarterfinals, Aryna Sabalenka will leave the U.S. Open as the world #1.

🐅 pic.twitter.com/JptOMoArJd
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 1, 2025

While there is never a guarantee as to how a draw will unfold ahead of a Grand Slam event, one thing is certain – Aryna Sabalenka will make a statement. The best player in the world has reached the last eight stage in each of the last 12 majors she has contested. And with Sunday’s supreme success, she is assured of her No. 1 ranking after the end of the US Open.

“I’m not playing not to lose, I play to win,” Sabalenka laid out when asked about the pressure of defending her crown. She is bidding to become the first player to retain her women’s singles trophy at the US Open since Serena Williams in 2014. “I don’t care about what happened last year. Of course it’s a big achievement, and I’m super happy that I was able to achieve it once. But the goal is to do it many more times.”

4 – Since 2000, Aryna Sabalenka is now the fourth player to reach all four Women's Singles QFs at Grand Slams in a season as WTA #1:

Martina Hingis (2000)
Lindsay Davenport (2005)
Serena Williams (2015-16)
Aryna Sabalenka (2025) 🆕

Top.#USOpen | @usopen @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/rRdcyXj7rM
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) September 1, 2025

Can Aryna Sabalenka win her fourth major at the US Open 2025? If not, what will it take to stop her? Regardless of the outcome, a mouth-watering second week awaits fans in New York.

(Image Credits: Mike Frey, Imagn Images)

Aryna Sabalenka

Coco Gauff

Iga Swiatek

Tennis

US Open

US Open 2025

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Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.