The US Open mixed doubles week will soon enthrall tennis fans with an amazing showcase featuring some of the biggest names from ATP and WTA. While stars like Carlos Alcaraz, Emma Raducanu, Taylor Fritz, Elena Rybakina, Jannik Sinner and Emma Navarro are just some of the names looking toward the lucrative $1 million glory, fans were also hoping to see three-time slam queen and World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka on court. The Belarusian, however, has other plans.

Sabalenka snatched an easy win on Wednesday evening at the ongoing Cincinnati Open. In the R16, she bested Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro with a score of 6-1, 7-5 in an hour and 20 minutes. With that, the Belarusian has kept her hopes alive to defend her title from last season at the WTA 1000 event. But it was her post-match reaction that ended up catching more attention. During the on-court interview, she was asked about her plans to appear at the US Open mixed doubles event.

The World No.1 simply rejected the idea. Why? For the uninitiated, Sabalenka was supposed to play the mixed doubles campaign in New York with Bulgarian ATP pro Grigor Dimitrov. Unfortunately, the latter withdrew from the US Open recently owing to a pectoral injury he sustained during Wimbledon last month, playing against Jannik Sinner in the fourth round. Seems like Sabalenka made up her mind to play alongside Dimitrov. But now that he’s not there, she sees no point in competing in the mixed doubles format. Proving her loyalty to Dimitrov, she simply responded, “Well there is a few guys who are asking, but, no, I don’t think so.”

Probably that’s another reason why Sabalenka’s name wasn’t there in the confirmed list of pairs released last month. Simply put, fans will only get to see her at the Flushing Meadows during the singles campaign.

Speaking of which, she’s looking solid already to enter New York in a stable form, especially given her ongoing streak in Cincinnati. However, Sabalenka is going to face a tough challenge ahead when she steps on the court for her quarterfinal battle.

Aryna Sabalenka to go against Elena Rybakina in Cincinnati

Similar to Aryna Sabalenka, Kazakh tennis star Elena Rybakina’s got a hard-hitting playing style too. Both tend to hit the ball with brute force, which makes for an intense clash whenever they are up against each other. Take, for example, their recent meeting in Berlin.

Two months ago, Sabalenka faced Rybakina in the quarterfinals at the Berlin Open on grass. It was a cliffhanger, to say the least. The Belarusian had to struggle to snatch the first set in a thrilling tie-break. Rybakina then leveled the score with a win in the second set. Then in the decider, she gave the World No.1 a run for her money. In a very close battle, Sabalenka somehow managed to emerge victorious with a final scoreline of 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-6(6).

Sharing her honest reaction after escaping Rybakina, the Belarusian confessed, “Elena, she’s a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles … I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky, to be honest,” reported WTA’s website in June. Yes, she’s leading 7-4 in the H2H battle, but Sabalenka knows how tough it becomes for her every time to get past the 2022 Wimbledon champion. Rybakina, on the other hand, is coming off her R16 win against 2025 Australian Open queen Madison Keys. She bested the American in a three-setter, after pulling off a comeback with a final score line of 6-7, 6-4, 6-2.

Do you think Sabalenka will be able to move past Rybakina in the quarterfinal to keep her Cincinnati campaign alive? Let us know in the comments below.