Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka says the intensity of competition at the highest level of tennis continues to push her to improve as she attempts to win a third consecutive US Open title.

Speaking ahead of her latest US Open challenge, Sabalenka said she enjoys the competitive pressure of having rivals chasing her while also understanding the demands of being the player everyone wants to beat.

“Competition always pushes you to get better,” Sabalenka said, describing the pressure as one of the reasons she loves sport.

The Belarusian entered the 2026 tournament as the world No. 1 and defending champion. She began her title defence with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Camila Osorio before defeating Polina Iatcenko 6-1, 6-1 in the second round.

Sabalenka then defeated Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 6-4 in the third round on September 4, extending her US Open winning streak to 16 matches and reaching the fourth round.

The victory also underlined her consistency at Flushing Meadows. Since her US Open main-draw debut in 2018, Sabalenka has accumulated more women's singles main-draw wins at the tournament than any other player, according to the WTA.

Her pursuit this year is particularly significant. Sabalenka won the US Open in 2024 and 2025, and another triumph would make her the first woman since Serena Williams to win the tournament three years in succession. Williams achieved that feat from 2012 to 2014.

Sabalenka has also spoken about the importance of maintaining balance away from tennis. She said the intensity of competition requires her to stay focused on court, while time away from the sport allows her to relax and recharge.

New York has become a particularly comfortable setting for the 28-year-old, who has described the city's atmosphere and crowds as sources of motivation. She will next face American Taylor Townsend in the round of 16.

With the tournament entering its second week, Sabalenka remains on course for a historic title defence—but faces increasingly difficult opposition as she seeks to extend her remarkable US Open run.

Aryna Sabalenka defeated Naomi Osaka 7-5, 6-3 in one hour and 27 minutes to advance to the French Open quarterfinals, delivering one of the standout performances of this year's Roland Garros.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka continued her dominant run at Roland Garros on Monday, brushing aside former champion Naomi Osaka in straight sets to seal her place in the French Open 2026 quarterfinals. The top seed was clinical throughout, winning 7-5, 6-3 in a match that lasted just under an hour and a half — but rarely felt one-sided until the very end.

The match was scheduled for the prestigious night session at Court Philippe-Chatrier, one of the few times a women's contest has headlined the evening programme at Roland Garros this fortnight. A packed crowd in Paris showed up in full voice, and both players gave them plenty to cheer about.

Sabalenka Edges a Tense First Set

The opening set was competitive in ways the scoreline doesn't entirely capture. Osaka, playing with purpose and early rhythm, matched Sabalenka across the baseline and kept the Belarusian from settling into her usual aggressive patterns. The set stayed level at 5-5, with neither player able to pull clear.

It was Sabalenka who blinked first — in the right direction. She found an extra gear on return, broke Osaka's serve late in the set, and then held comfortably to take it 7-5. That late surge, more than anything, reflected the gulf in experience between the two on clay this year.

Second Set a Different Story

Carrying momentum and confidence into the second set, Sabalenka turned up the aggression. Her groundstrokes were heavier, her serve more precise, and Osaka — despite making a brief push to claw her way back in — found fewer and fewer ways to disrupt the pattern.

Sabalenka broke at critical moments and eventually closed out the set 6-3, sealing the win and confirming her spot in the last eight at Roland Garros. At the net, the two players embraced warmly — a moment that felt genuine between two Grand Slam champions who know exactly what these stages demand.

Sabalenka Makes Her Case for More Night Sessions

In her on-court interview after the victory, Sabalenka didn't hold back on what the occasion meant — and what it should signal going forward.

"I think it was very important that they put our match in the night session today," she said. "The enthusiasm of the fans who came to watch this match and the attention it received will make the organisers understand that in the future they should consider holding women's matches at night."

It was a pointed remark, and a widely echoed one. Women's matches at Grand Slams have historically been scheduled away from prime-time slots, with the argument long made that men's matches — often longer and believed to draw larger television audiences — are better suited for the night programme.

Osaka Joins the Call

Despite the loss, Osaka added her voice to the debate. The Japanese star acknowledged the crowd's energy throughout the match and said women's tennis deserved more visibility in those headline slots. It was a rare moment of post-match solidarity that drew attention well beyond the scoreline.

Title Bid on Track

Sabalenka arrives at the quarterfinals as the clear favourite for the title, her game well-suited to the clay and her confidence visibly high. She has dropped just one set through the tournament so far and shown no signs of the inconsistency that occasionally troubled her earlier in the clay-court season.

Her quarterfinal opponent is yet to be confirmed, but few at Roland Garros this week would bet against the world number one going deeper still.