Once-in-a-lifetime shot at joining Steffi Graf, Monica Seles & Martina Hingis no pressure for 2x Australian Open defending champ Aryna Sabalenka

On January 25, Aryna Sabalenka could become only the sixth woman in the Open Era to win three straight Australian Open titles. Should she do so, the Belarusian will join Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Martina Hingis on a list that will go down in history as a very exclusive club.

Yet, things are not as easy for the two-time defending champion. She will have to win seven straight matches over the next two weeks, and will likely have to battle past the likes of World No. 2 Iga Swiatek and World No. 3 Coco Gauff on the way.

Sabalenka, thankfully, will not be short of confidence. The World No. 1 has arrived in Melbourne after a title run at the Brisbane International last week. Her form in hardcourt Grand Slams was perfect in 2024 as well, with a title win at the US Open as well.

More accomplished players than Sabalenka, however, have failed to get a Melbourne hat-trick. Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Naomi Osaka, Jennifer Capriati -- the list goes on. In fact, no one in the 21st century has managed to get the feat done.

Despite such a daunting task facing her, the World No. 1 is strangely calm. Speaking at her pre-tournament press conference on Friday, the 26-year-old admitted she was aware of what historical implications lay ahead of her at Melbourne Park this weekend.

At the same time, the three-time Major winner did not want to overthink about that and let nerves get to her, instead wanting to keep herself content with just 'doing her job.'

"Like not I'm reading it every day the tennis history. It's enough tennis in my life. Of course, I know that I have possibility of joining legends by winning three times in a row," Aryna Sabalenka said.

"Once again, I don't want to overthink about that. I just want to do my job. Hopefully by the end of this tournament I'll be super proud of myself and I'll be able to put my name in the history," she added.

For the record, Graf did the hat trick in Australia between 1988-90, Seles between 1991-93 and Hingis between 1997-99. Meanwhile, Court won three-in-a-row between 1969-71 and Goolagong between 1974-76.

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"Being one to chase, I like that feeling" - Aryna Sabalenka on being World No. 1

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During the press conference, Aryna Sabalenka also spoke about the feeling of being World No.1, her first time starting the year as the top-ranked World No. 1 player. Sabalenka, interestingly, pointed out that she was more comfortable as someone being the one other players are chasing, and felt it was more in line with her easy-going character.

The Belarusian insisted that the knowledge that she had a target on her back, in fact, drove her to excel even more, even if saying it out loud felt a tad 'cocky' at the end of the day.

"I think we all different. But for me, just always been something about my character. I always liked to compete. I always liked to accept, like, really tough challenges," Aryna Sabalenka said.

"For me being the one to chase, I mean, I don't know, I like it. I like that feeling. That's what drives me and help me to stay motivated because I know that I have target on my back. I really like to have it. That's why I work really hard, make sure that nobody can gets to me. Oh, my God, it sounds too cocky, isn't it?" she added.

Sabalenka will open her 2025 Australian Open campaign against former US Open champ Sloane Stephens.