Aryna Sabalenka vs. Tommy Paul: Victoria Azarenka reveals who hits the ball harder on Tour

Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Grand Slam champion and compatriot of Aryna Sabalenka, recently weighted in on an intriguing debate: who hits the ball harder, the WTA world number one or the American ATP star Tommy Paul? Vicka, who has faced Sabalenka many times and often trains with Paul, offered her nuanced insights.

In a new episode of Daria Kasatkina's 'What the Vlog', Belarussian Victoria Azarenka and the Australian talked some tennis and went into different aspects of the game. When they went into the nature of power in tennis, the former world No.1 shared an interesting point of view, explaining that there are different dimensions to hitting the ball hard:

There’s two ways of looking at it, heaviness and speed and I think there are people who can play faster, but not as heavy. Aryna plays heavy… and fast.”

She elaborated that while Tommy Paul’s forehand can be heavy and his backhand is fast, “his backhand is not that heavy. Forehand can be heavy.” In contrast, Sabalenka’s shots, according to Azarenka, combine both speed and weight, making her a formidable hitter from both wings.

This assesment as crazy as it might sound is actually backed by impressive statistics. During her US Open-winning run last year, Sabalenka averaged a forehand speed of 80 mph, surpassing the average for top 10 ATP players, which sits at 75 mph. Remarkably, her average forehand speed at Flushing Meadows was even higher than those recorded by Spain's star Carlos Alcaraz, 24 Grand Slam-winner Novak Djokovic and ATP world No. 1, Jannik Sinner. This suggest that Sabalenka's power is not only elite within the women's game but also competitive with many of the best ATP players.

Azarenka’s comments highlight the unique blend of speed and “heaviness” in Sabalenka’s game, distinguishing her from both her WTA and ATP peers. As Sabalenka gears up for Roland Garros, her ability to generate such power will be a key asset in her pursuit of a fourth major title.