'Clear of the rest': Andrea Petkovic makes big claims about Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek rivalry

Former German tennis player Andrea Petkovic has drawn a comparison between the Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek rivalry in women’s tennis with the competitiveness between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in men’s tennis.

Sinner and Alcaraz have become the dominant force in men’s tennis, especially since the start of 2024, as they have shared all of the last seven Grand Slams between them. This year, Sinner has won the Australian Open and the recently concluded Wimbledon, whereas Alcaraz lifted the French Open title. Both players featured in the final of two out of the three Grand Slams in 2025 as well.

On the other hand, women’s tennis has seen far more players competing for big titles.. Since the start of 2024, five players have lifted seven Grand Slam titles. Out of those, world number one Sabalenka and number three-ranked Swiatek are the only players to have won two major titles. The three others were lifted by America’s Coco Gauff, Madison Keys and the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova.

Despite that, former world number nine Petkovic believes that there is a similarity between Sabalenka and Swiatek, who remains above the rest of the players in women’s tennis. Petkovic admitted that women’s tennis has far more competition compared to men’s tennis, with the likes of Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Keys beating the best players from time to time. However, Petkovic was of the opinion that when everyone is playing their best tennis, Sabalenka and Swiatek are clearly the two best players in women’s tennis, much like Sinner and Alcaraz are in men’s tennis.

“I’ve said it several times, for me, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are the two best players in the world,” she said. “They’re like [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz. The problem is, they’re not as consistent as Sinner and Alcaraz at the Grand Slams. The others, the [Coco] Gauff’s, the [Jessica] Pegula’s, can knock them out every now and then, which happens less with the men. But when everyone is playing their best tennis, Iga and Aryna are clear of the rest of the field.”