Petkovic: Sabalenka's dominance in women's tennis is comparable to Alcaraz in men's tennis.

Recently, German dancer Petkovic discussed the current landscape of women's tennis in an interview. She believes that Swiatek and Sabalenka hold overwhelming dominance, akin to Alcaraz and Sinner.

In a recent interview, Petkovic candidly stated that although the competition in women's tennis remains open, it is evident that world number three Swiatek and world number one Sabalenka have formed a solid top group, with their strength creating a noticeable gap from the others, thus establishing a dominance comparable to Alcaraz and Sinner in men's tennis.

“I have emphasized multiple times that Sabalenka and Swiatek are undoubtedly the top two players in women's tennis today; their status in the WTA is similar to that of Alcaraz and Sinner in the ATP,” said Petkovic.

However, Petkovic also pointed out a key difference between these two female superstars and the rising male stars — stability in Grand Slam tournaments.

She continued, “But the issue is that their stability in Grand Slam events is slightly lacking, which provides opportunities for other top players to break through.”

Petkovic specifically mentioned top players like Gauff and Pegula: “They can occasionally seize the chance to defeat Swiatek or Sabalenka, a situation of 'upsets' that is relatively rare in the current men's circuit.” This observation underscores the openness of competition at the top level in women's tennis.

Despite this, Petkovic gave the highest praise to the "double stars": “When all players are at their peak, Swiatek and Sabalenka's strength still far surpasses the entire WTA field.” She emphasized that both players have built a barrier that is difficult for others to overcome in terms of absolute ability.

Petkovic's views have sparked heated discussions online. Some believe that while Swiatek and Sabalenka possess a certain level of dominance, their stability is quite poor. Moreover, their technical abilities do not significantly outpace others. In contrast, Alcaraz and Sinner's dominance is almost monopolistic, completely distancing themselves from others; whenever these two compete, others have little chance of winning.

“Of course! They are very strong! But look! Sabalenka lost two consecutive finals in three Grand Slam tournaments this year and even suffered a shocking defeat to Anisimova at Wimbledon. And take a look at Swiatek; before winning Wimbledon, she had a 14-month title drought—what does that mean! But would Alcaraz and Sinner experience that?” a netizen commented.

However, some netizens believe that Swiatek and Sabalenka, as former co-holders of the world number one ranking, indeed command respect for their abilities. One user stated, “If we are to discuss whose era it will be in the future, it is clearly the era of Sabalenka and Swiatek; at least they have the greatest opportunities and the most successful experiences. This is the reality, and Petkovic is merely articulating this reality.”

As Swiatek was eliminated by Townsend in Montreal, missing out on the quarterfinals, she will next compete against Sabalenka and Gauff in Cincinnati. However, judging by the stability of their performances, it may still be too early to conclude the future direction of women's tennis. With the US Open approaching, Swiatek aims to add more glory to her Wimbledon title, while Sabalenka seeks to replicate last year's US Open triumph. Whether they can showcase sustained dominance like Alcaraz and Sinner in Wimbledon and future Grand Slams, as Petkovic suggested, will be the focal point of women's tennis.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Lu Xiaotian)