Aryna Sabalenka has insisted she is only focused on winning, not 'playing not to lose,' after storming into the US Open quarter-finals with a commanding straight-sets victory over Spain’s Cristina Bucsa.
The defending champion wasted little time in front of the Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd on Sunday night, wrapping up a 6-1, 6-4 win in just over 70 minutes to set up a heavyweight clash with 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.
In her on-court interview after the match, Sabalenka was asked if the pressure of defending her maiden US Open crown might make her cautious in approach.
The Belarusian was quick to shoot down the suggestion.
Aryna Sabalenka has been in imperious form at the US Open so far
|REUTERS
“I’m not playing not to lose, I play to win,” she said firmly.
“I don’t care about what happened last year. Of course it’s a big achievement, and I’m super happy I was able to achieve it once, but the goal is to do it many more times.
"My mentality is to go out there every time, bring the best fighting spirit, and just fight for my dream.”
The world No 2’s performance against Bucsa underlined that mentality.
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She dominated the opening set with two quick breaks, barely giving her opponent a chance to settle.
In the second set, Bucsa fought harder and stretched Sabalenka in a marathon 19-point seventh game, but the Spaniard never managed to carve out a single break point.
Once Sabalenka seized the decisive lead at 4-2, she never looked back.
The victory means Sabalenka has now reached 12 consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals - a remarkable streak that highlights her consistency at the very top of the women’s game.
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By reaching the quarterfinals, Aryna Sabalenka will leave the U.S. Open as the world #1.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 1, 2025
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She admitted afterwards that maintaining balance away from the court has been crucial.
“I’m super proud. I think that’s an incredible achievement,” she said.
“For me, the key was balancing on- and off-the-court life. I’ve done a great job on combining really hard work with proper recovery and also some fun time outside of the tennis court.
"I think that’s been the key.”
Sabalenka enters the quarter-finals still chasing her first major trophy of 2025.
She fell agonisingly short in Melbourne and Paris, losing in the finals, and was stopped by Ons Jabeur in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
That makes Flushing Meadows her last chance this season to add to her two career Grand Slam titles.
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Aryna Sabalenka will do battle with Marketa Vondrousova in the quarter-finals of the US Open
|REUTERS
Her opponent on Tuesday will be Vondrousova, the Czech left-hander who stunned Jasmine Paolini and former champion Elena Rybakina in earlier rounds.
Vondrousova’s deceptive mix of touch and counter-punching could pose a different kind of test for Sabalenka, who relies on heavy hitting and relentless power.
The stakes are high for the Belarusian, who knows that victory in New York would reaffirm her reputation as one of the most feared competitors in women’s tennis.