Rivalry is sports’ jet fuel. It elevates interest. It elevates stakes. It elevates the performance of the principals. The more, the better. Immediately after the match there were suggestions that Sabalenka is the true No. 1 and is having the best 2023. (Hard to argue.) There were countersuggestions that this was a one-off, a clay event played at altitude and Świątek remains the favorite to win at Roland Garros. (Also, perhaps true.) But fans have picked lanes, and they care.
Apart from the contrast in styles, the contrast in personalities, the No. 1 versus No. 2, you also have this geopolitical backdrop. You think the U.S. dislikes barbarous Putin (and, by extension, vile Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko)? Spend some time in Europe, particularly countries bordering Russia. At most government buildings, the Ukraine flag flies at the same height as the national flag. Świątek, from Poland, opposes Russia. So much so she takes the court wearing a Ukrainian flag pin on her hat and speaks openly and admirably about her stance. Sabalenka, of Belarus, has, to put it mildly, not condemned the invasion. That makes for a kind of current that run their matches and only adds context and stakes.
