Aryna Sabalenka not satisfied with 70,000-minute reign as World No. 1 jokingly makes request that would give her bigger numbers

Aryna Sabalenka playfully requested the WTA to reveal how many seconds she spent as the World No. 1 in 2024. The Belarusian's joke stemmed from the WTA sharing the number of minutes she was the world's top-ranked women's singles tennis player during the year.

Sabalenka started her 2024 season at the Brisbane International, where she finished runner-up. Next, at the Australian Open, she became the first woman to successfully defend the title in Melbourne since compatriot Victoria Azarenka in 2013. A barren patch followed, with a shoulder injury marring her involvement at the Wimbledon Championships.

However, upon her return she played some of her best tennis during the North American swing, winning the Cincinnati Open before clinching the US Open title for the first time. These feats, combined with a retrospective docking of points for both her and former No. 1 Iga Swiatek and the pair's respective performances at the WTA Finals, meant that Aryna Sabalenka will be ending 2024 as the new year-end World No. 1.

Recently, the official WTA Instagram account shared a post, which noted that Sabalenka was the World No. 1 in 2024 for 70,608 minutes. The Belarusian took notice of it and shared it as an Instagram story with a playful caption:

"I'd prefer to see in seconds 😂 👌"

Source: Instagram/Aryna Sabalenka

In related news, at the year-end WTA Finals, Sabalenka expressed her thanks to her team for facilitating her return to the summit of women's singles tennis.

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"Best team ever" - Aryna Sabalenka at WTA Finals 2024

Aryna Sabalenka (second from right) celebrates her 2024 US Open title triumph with her team (Source: Getty)

Aryna Sabalenka's first spell as World No. 1 came in 2023, with her run to the US Open final allowing her to briefly leapfrog Iga Swiatek. However, the Pole eventually reclaimed the top spot and ended the year as the World No. 1.

In 2024 though, the Belarusian was able to keep the No. 1 spot after reclaiming it from Swiatek. After her win over Jasmine Paolini in the year-end 2024 WTA FInals' Round Robin phase, she expressed her gratitude for her team during a post-match on-court interview. Sabalenka said,

"To be able to show such great tennis and become world #1, It’s team work. It’s not only me. The behind the scenes work nobody sees. But they do a lot for me. I really appreciate them for everything they do for me. This is motivation for me to keep winning on this court. Those guys deserve to be called the best team ever."

The Belarusian finished 2024 with a 56-14 win-loss record, four titles, and more than $9 million earned in prize money.