US Open 2024: Aryna Sabalenka hits harder than all men

This woman hits harder than all men

The US Open finalist even surpassed Carlos Alcaraz (127 km/h) with the speed of her forehand balls (129 km/h). Nevertheless, she had no chance against him. But why?

Published today at 20:19

Full steam ahead: Aryna Sabalenka will face Jessica Pegula in the US Open final on Saturday.

Photo: Luke Hales (Getty Images)

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When Aryna Sabalenka hits the balls with her forehand and follows them with a hearty scream, her opponents are often powerless. Her balls fly over the net so fast that they would trigger a speed camera on a Swiss motorway: at an average of 129 kilometers per hour. This means that Sabalenka’s forehands are faster than those of all men, including those of Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard, whose forehand is revered as the most powerful on the tour, reaches 127 km/h, Jannik Sinner 126 km/h and Novak Djokovic 122 km/h.

“I’ve seen the statistics too and I can hardly believe it,” Sabalenka said in an interview on the court this week. “It feels kind of uncomfortable to be at the top and to hit even harder than the men.” But yes, that’s an interesting statistic.”

Chris Everts’ clumsy comparison

Her reticence probably stems from the fact that comparisons with men are a sensitive topic in tennis. When Chris Evert wanted to compliment the Czech Karolina Muchova at the US Open and said that she played like a man, They pose a serious threat and had to apologize. Evert was referring to Muchova’s variable, aggressive game, which often advances to the net. Whether this is a more masculine game is a matter of opinion.

But there are hard facts about Sabalenka’s forehand: the ball roars to the other side faster with her forehand than with any other man. With her power and uncompromising nature, she is reminiscent of Serena Williams. Her former coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who we haven’t heard from for a while, has now spoken out on social media and said that he is not surprised by these statistics.

The men play with more spin

The Frenchman explains: “The biggest difference between women’s and men’s tennis is that men move faster.” For women, it is therefore sensible to hit the ball hard and with less spin in order to put the opponent in difficulty. It is worth taking more risks and playing flatter. For men, on the other hand, this is not worth it because it rarely leads to a point. Sometimes it is even counterproductive because the opponents take the momentum with them. That is why men put more spin on the ball. This gives them more margin, and this spin also makes it difficult to control the balls.”

Sabalenka’s forehands reach around 38 revolutions per second, while the men’s average is around 47. Rafael Nadal can spin his forehands at up to 83 revolutions per second, which makes them difficult to control indeed. Roger Federer would agree. For years, Nadal’s forehands on his one-handed backhand were a big problem for him. Sabalenka’s balls fly over the net faster too, but the men’s racket head speed is usually higher. It’s just that a higher proportion of this is converted into spin.

Carlos Alcaraz’s forehand: He gives the balls more spin than Sabalenka.

Photo: Matthew Stockman (Getty Images via AFP)

Because it is difficult for men to score points from the baseline, their game is indeed more variable than that of women. They have to think about how to score points differently. The prime example is Carlos Alcaraz, who keeps throwing drop shots and likes to push to the net. Sabalenka would have no chance against the top male players because she would score far fewer direct points and would be on the defensive far more often.

On hard courts she quickly becomes unbeatable

But her power is always impressive. Her powerful tennis is a perfect fit for hard courts, where, unlike on clay or at Wimbledon, no ball bounces and she has perfect timing. Since 2023, the 26-year-old has won 26 of 27 matches at Grand Slam tournaments on hard courts – in Melbourne and New York. She only lost to Coco Gauff in last year’s US Open final.

Now she faces another final against an American in Flushing Meadows: on Saturday (10pm CET) against Jessica Pegula. Against Gauff, who is cheered on frenetically by the US audience she lost her nerve and lost 6:2, 3:6, 2:6. Against Pegula, the powerful Belarusian must now show that she has also trained the most important muscle in tennis: her head.

Simon Graf is deputy head of the sports department and has been reporting on ice hockey and tennis since 1994. He studied history and German at the University of Zurich and has written several sports books. His latest is “Inspiration Federer”.More info@SimonGraf1

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topicnews · September 6, 2024

US Open 2024: Aryna Sabalenka hits harder than all men

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