This got me feeling nostalgic... Followed wta closely since 2010 and I still think peak Vika is the best hard court player in the past decade apart from Serena. She'll be the clear underdog against Rybakina and Sabalenka, but hoping for a miracle win!
I’ve been a proud Vika stan since 2008. Former member of Vikaland on Tennisforum! In 2016 I never thought she’d still be out here playing - she’s been such a gift.
And until she retires, she will always be a threat at the AO, USO, IW, and Miami. She is the best hardcourt player of this generation (other than Serena obviously)/
I’m not, sadly. I was very active from 2008-2013 but then took a break for a while. It doesn’t quite seem the same nowadays! But 2008-2013 was peak WTA drama and that made TF a lot of fun lol
Change the first time to 'span' and then reword the second part to use 'history' rather than 'time'?
This woman is two matches away from the longest span between major wins in all of tennis' history
Rybakina, Sabalenka can overpower Azarenka, still a great effort that she is putting in, there were just two former champions in the draw, with Azarenka eliminating kenin in the first round, and we still have one former champion left in the draw, that's great.
I think Ryba is her biggest roadblock. Both of them can outplay this version of Aza but Aza has the most experience and best mentality of the remaining players. Iirc saba has beaten her the last few times they played but completely melted against her in that 2019 UO match.
Of course the real worry for Saba that hasn't really been spoken about is Vekic. Vekic has won 5 of the 6 matches she has played against Saba and although they span over quite a long time, Vekic got her in their last match near the end of last year and has been well below Saba in rankings for most of them so it must be a great style match up for Donna.
Ryba seems to have crazy strong mindset for her experience level, she is so relaxed, even when she won her first major it felt like it was business as usual
Probably just a coincidence. Stylistically there's no reason Vekic should beat Sabalenka. I just think Vekic has been fortunate to face a Sabalenka who's error heavy.
Bencic is better than Vekic and Vekic doesn't do anything at some real high level to worry the top players except for the fact that any random match can have them lose from their own low level play. Bencic wasn't that bad against Sabalenka though not great either but Sabalenka was just not missing much.
Bencic majority of her errors in the match was double faults, which says a lot about how she played during rallies. But when Sabalenka hits 32 winners and 18 errors only, good luck to anyone. Problem is Sabalenka has had matches where she literally can't keep the ball in the court.
Vekic lost a 6-2 set to a qualifier and a 6-1 set against Fruhvirtova. Vekic also only won 52% of her first serve points in her last match which is so bad. It also helps that while Fruh won 74% behind her first serve, she had 20 errors in the match and 11 of them were double faults, similar to Bencic basically. Just gifting games away from double faults.
Vekic 5/6 on bp's won, Fruh 4/10
With Sabalenka's big serve and big hitting she should really easily beat Vekic but it shows that somehow Vekic keeps meeting Sabalenka when she can't keep the ball in the court.
That's a little demeaning toward Vekic imo.
I've heard many top players talk about how there are just certain players that they struggle against for strange reasons. Vekic seems like one of those players for Aryna
I mean what did I say that was wrong? In WTA it's very rare that someone is a stylistic mis-match.
Sabalenka can either hit anyone off the court or she hits herself off the court, there really isn't any other way with her because all she does is try and finish the point quickly with big hitting.
Exactly among the remaining players Azarenka is most experienced of handling this stage of competition, and it usually does happen, once you reach deep in the competition, a player's level of confidence and form rises further, specially someone like Azarenka, who has been a two time champion here and also former no. 1.
I really wanted her to win that final vs Osaka in - I wanna say - 2019 USO. Honestly Pegula was my favorite to win it all after Iga got eliminated and Vika beat her fair and square. She has a chance here again, I would love to see her win 🥹.
It was US Open 2020, the pandemic one with no fans. [Vividly remember her and Leo sitting alone in her suite on center court watching matches.](https://i.insider.com/61eb033e2b43ff00185e1034?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp)
Fun fact: Vika won a mixed doubles grand slam 16 calendar years ago (2007 US Open with Max Myrni, also won 2008 mixed with Bob Bryan at the French).
I'm old, shit.
Obviously higher level relatively than RBA in terms of the WTA but in terms of where Azarenka’s nostalgic run ends Rybakina is the rock that Azarenka will not get through or push out of the way just like RBA has been for Murray for a few years now.
I like Rybakina and hope she wins but we literally can't know how the match should end. If the players were more consistent I would say Rybakina wins, but Rybakina just like all these players have lost matches where she just hits too many errors. With Rybakina's big hitting and big serve she should be one of the best players and win multiple Slams. The problem is consistency and winning all these matches to win a Slam requires either some luck to where their opponent does not show up on a bad day or just actually play really well every single match.
Her match vs Ostapenko wasn't great. The serve/return difference really helped here. But Rybakina hit too many errors still and had Ostapenko been better, could have been dangerous.
If you include all disciplines it's Navratilova by a long shot.
1974 mixed doubles at Roland Garros, 2006 US Open mixed doubles.
In singles specifically? I stated that Azarenka would hold the record all time. The question that you asked, framed for all time, would probably be Ken Rosewall. 1953 AO and 1972 AO men's singles although in 1953 it would've been called the Australian Championships.
Wait, like longest time between two victories, or longest time between two slam wins in general?
Because it's kinda impossible to beat Nadal's 2005 RG and 2022 RG, almost exactly 17 years apart, in the latter category lol.
Ohh ok. I didn't know that about Rosewall. I feel like I always hear about how longevity is relatively knew in tennis and most greats pre-big 3 (and Agassi) retired by 30 or early 30s
No, "gap" has a more specific meaning that there is a break between two points in time. Otherwise I believe the correct answer would be Nadal for longest time between majors (2005-2022). Nadal does not have a long gap between majors though although he did have a long gap between Australian Open titles.
Lmao obviously not _rationally_, but culturally it's so taken for granted over here (Italy) and in other countries that you feel way better not doing it anyway, it's an unwritten rule like many others like bon ton etc. At this point its meaning has been set, so if you say it publically it's seen by others as akin to wishing that your favorite player/team loses. And irrational beliefs, wishes and superstitions are the bread and butter of every sport.
Different people, different genes...
I am around your age and while people say I still look really young, I definitely don't look like I did as a 20 year old.
Also I thought she looked great actually lol. Def not 40s.
This got me feeling nostalgic... Followed wta closely since 2010 and I still think peak Vika is the best hard court player in the past decade apart from Serena. She'll be the clear underdog against Rybakina and Sabalenka, but hoping for a miracle win!
I think she can take Sabalenka
sabalenka without serving yips is the raichu to vika's pikachu.
Without a doubt it's her. No one else is even close
Well that's not true
I’ve been a proud Vika stan since 2008. Former member of Vikaland on Tennisforum! In 2016 I never thought she’d still be out here playing - she’s been such a gift. And until she retires, she will always be a threat at the AO, USO, IW, and Miami. She is the best hardcourt player of this generation (other than Serena obviously)/
Are you still on tennisforum?
I’m not, sadly. I was very active from 2008-2013 but then took a break for a while. It doesn’t quite seem the same nowadays! But 2008-2013 was peak WTA drama and that made TF a lot of fun lol
Its still going if you ever want to rejoin it :)
Omg og Vika Stan, I pay my respects
r/titlegore
Longest time of all time.
I couldn't agree more. Not smooth at all. Would you like further clarity?
Azarenka is two wins away from setting the all-time record for the longest gap between Major titles (among both men and women)
This guy englishs
all time, open era & before - AD and BC.
Change the first time to 'span' and then reword the second part to use 'history' rather than 'time'? This woman is two matches away from the longest span between major wins in all of tennis' history
Rybakina, Sabalenka can overpower Azarenka, still a great effort that she is putting in, there were just two former champions in the draw, with Azarenka eliminating kenin in the first round, and we still have one former champion left in the draw, that's great.
I think Ryba is her biggest roadblock. Both of them can outplay this version of Aza but Aza has the most experience and best mentality of the remaining players. Iirc saba has beaten her the last few times they played but completely melted against her in that 2019 UO match. Of course the real worry for Saba that hasn't really been spoken about is Vekic. Vekic has won 5 of the 6 matches she has played against Saba and although they span over quite a long time, Vekic got her in their last match near the end of last year and has been well below Saba in rankings for most of them so it must be a great style match up for Donna.
Ryba seems to have crazy strong mindset for her experience level, she is so relaxed, even when she won her first major it felt like it was business as usual
Probably just a coincidence. Stylistically there's no reason Vekic should beat Sabalenka. I just think Vekic has been fortunate to face a Sabalenka who's error heavy. Bencic is better than Vekic and Vekic doesn't do anything at some real high level to worry the top players except for the fact that any random match can have them lose from their own low level play. Bencic wasn't that bad against Sabalenka though not great either but Sabalenka was just not missing much. Bencic majority of her errors in the match was double faults, which says a lot about how she played during rallies. But when Sabalenka hits 32 winners and 18 errors only, good luck to anyone. Problem is Sabalenka has had matches where she literally can't keep the ball in the court. Vekic lost a 6-2 set to a qualifier and a 6-1 set against Fruhvirtova. Vekic also only won 52% of her first serve points in her last match which is so bad. It also helps that while Fruh won 74% behind her first serve, she had 20 errors in the match and 11 of them were double faults, similar to Bencic basically. Just gifting games away from double faults. Vekic 5/6 on bp's won, Fruh 4/10 With Sabalenka's big serve and big hitting she should really easily beat Vekic but it shows that somehow Vekic keeps meeting Sabalenka when she can't keep the ball in the court.
That's a little demeaning toward Vekic imo. I've heard many top players talk about how there are just certain players that they struggle against for strange reasons. Vekic seems like one of those players for Aryna
I mean what did I say that was wrong? In WTA it's very rare that someone is a stylistic mis-match. Sabalenka can either hit anyone off the court or she hits herself off the court, there really isn't any other way with her because all she does is try and finish the point quickly with big hitting.
Don't know anymore, my confidence in her increased after she beat peak Pegula in the straight set and outplayed her 90% of the time
Exactly among the remaining players Azarenka is most experienced of handling this stage of competition, and it usually does happen, once you reach deep in the competition, a player's level of confidence and form rises further, specially someone like Azarenka, who has been a two time champion here and also former no. 1.
Hope Vika does well, the custody battle bs took away many good potential years
The sony Ericsson mobile phone board ad gave proper context in terms of how long has it been.
Way to jinx it, dweeb.
Jinxing isn't real, it can't hurt you
I really wanted her to win that final vs Osaka in - I wanna say - 2019 USO. Honestly Pegula was my favorite to win it all after Iga got eliminated and Vika beat her fair and square. She has a chance here again, I would love to see her win 🥹.
It was US Open 2020, the pandemic one with no fans. [Vividly remember her and Leo sitting alone in her suite on center court watching matches.](https://i.insider.com/61eb033e2b43ff00185e1034?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp)
Fun fact: Vika won a mixed doubles grand slam 16 calendar years ago (2007 US Open with Max Myrni, also won 2008 mixed with Bob Bryan at the French). I'm old, shit.
I love Vika. Always have, always will
Man, I want her to win so much
Adrian Quist won the AO in 1940 and 1948. But the AO wasn't played from 1941-45.
Hope she gets it tbh
Are you telling me there's still hope for Raducanu? (':
2022 Serena would have beaten Azarenka that day.
Yeah
Does 'This woman' have a name, OP?
Guest.
😂 iconic comment
🙏
Let’s go Vika!
Rybakina will beat her Azarenka is the Murray of the WTA and Rybakina is the RBA.
I’d love to know how you equate RBA to Rybakina
**R**y**BA**kina
In terms of being a roadblock that stops her as she runs out of gas. Rybakina has played Azarenka before and overpowered her.
Nah. Girl Ryba is higher level.
Obviously higher level relatively than RBA in terms of the WTA but in terms of where Azarenka’s nostalgic run ends Rybakina is the rock that Azarenka will not get through or push out of the way just like RBA has been for Murray for a few years now.
I like Rybakina and hope she wins but we literally can't know how the match should end. If the players were more consistent I would say Rybakina wins, but Rybakina just like all these players have lost matches where she just hits too many errors. With Rybakina's big hitting and big serve she should be one of the best players and win multiple Slams. The problem is consistency and winning all these matches to win a Slam requires either some luck to where their opponent does not show up on a bad day or just actually play really well every single match. Her match vs Ostapenko wasn't great. The serve/return difference really helped here. But Rybakina hit too many errors still and had Ostapenko been better, could have been dangerous.
Really dude RBA to this gal? Ryba is easily Alcaraz of WTA
This is very true about Vika and Andy because I love them both
Anulo mufa.
I think Rybakina wins it all unless Sabalenkas serve is spot on
Longest time **without winning any in between
The title is a total fuck up but I think it's fairly clear.
[удалено]
I think it makes slightly more sense if you're a tennis anorak like myself. I should've made it clear for those newer to the sport.
Other question, who holds the record for longest in between first and last grand slam? Nadal?
If you include all disciplines it's Navratilova by a long shot. 1974 mixed doubles at Roland Garros, 2006 US Open mixed doubles. In singles specifically? I stated that Azarenka would hold the record all time. The question that you asked, framed for all time, would probably be Ken Rosewall. 1953 AO and 1972 AO men's singles although in 1953 it would've been called the Australian Championships.
Thank you!!
Wait, like longest time between two victories, or longest time between two slam wins in general? Because it's kinda impossible to beat Nadal's 2005 RG and 2022 RG, almost exactly 17 years apart, in the latter category lol.
Except Ken Rosewall has. 19 years. And I know it's worded moronically but longest time between majors won.
Ohh ok. I didn't know that about Rosewall. I feel like I always hear about how longevity is relatively knew in tennis and most greats pre-big 3 (and Agassi) retired by 30 or early 30s
The longest gap between winning next slam - most people would win other slams in the 10 yr span
Ken Rosewall?
Nah. He won the equivalent but in the professional Tour. He gets a huge asterix because he won majors but they weren't recognised.
Oh wait he only had a 12 year gap between ‘56 Wimby & ‘68 RG,
Go Vika! I've gotten nostalgic. I didn't used to like her, and now I'm a fan. She's a good cookie.
God I hope she does it
Dont jinx her! 😬 Well... your jinx worked, she lost!
Hope not.
Humm I don't think that's true ? Her first major is 2012, Nadal has a 17 years gap (2005 2022)
Rafa won one every year from 2005 except 2014, 2016 and 2021. This is most years between two major wins. Federer had a 5 year gap after 2012
Oh my bad I'm dumb 🥴
Your interpretation of the title is not incorrect; the title is just worded ambiguously.
2015*, 16 & 21 He win the French Open in 2014 (not that changes anything about your comment regarding the topic)
* Longest gap, not longest time
Time between = gap
No, "gap" has a more specific meaning that there is a break between two points in time. Otherwise I believe the correct answer would be Nadal for longest time between majors (2005-2022). Nadal does not have a long gap between majors though although he did have a long gap between Australian Open titles.
You are right. I understand now what you meant.
Nadal in Open Era but before Open Era Ken Rosewall won his first Slam at the 53 Australian and his last in 72!
Anulo mufa
Yo también anulé. Esta gente no entiende.
Good luck Vika!
Most annoying grunt ever plz lose 👍
Can't believe there's people out there who have no concept of "jinxing" in sport. Just like some of the English football fans.
can't believe there's people out there who blieve in 'jinxing', probably every single match of any professional sport is 'jinxed' a few times per day
Lmao obviously not _rationally_, but culturally it's so taken for granted over here (Italy) and in other countries that you feel way better not doing it anyway, it's an unwritten rule like many others like bon ton etc. At this point its meaning has been set, so if you say it publically it's seen by others as akin to wishing that your favorite player/team loses. And irrational beliefs, wishes and superstitions are the bread and butter of every sport.
Anulo mufa
Good guy
How has Azarenka aged so much? I am 33 and I don’t look that different than I did as a 20 year old. Azarenka looks like she is in her 40s now.
idk I think she still looks quite young
Uh, what?? She looks like she's hardly aged at all. She was a babe 10 years ago and is definitely still a babe now.
It’s motherhood dude. Taking care of a baby and having a career is hard on your body.
That is true but my mother is late 50s now and she doesn’t look that much older than Azarenka.
This may surprise you, but there are 7 000 000 000 other people on the planet and they are different to your family.
Also playing in the sun 8-9months out of the year, travelling often, and dealing with lawyers 24/7 are stressful
Is your mom a professional athlete? It’s different when you have a 9-5 job vs someone training to win a grand slam.
It’s just classic tennis player sun exposure and near constant jet lag. Drains the youth out of you.
Different people, different genes... I am around your age and while people say I still look really young, I definitely don't look like I did as a 20 year old. Also I thought she looked great actually lol. Def not 40s.
who is that
Azarenka
\-10 upvotes why?? :(
VIKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
Damn, she really just jives with this tourney! Its really quite something.