Tiebreak Queens: Who Struggled to Break Down Opponents?

If you wondered which tennis players struggled to win matches decisively, you’re in luck. We present to you the top women who weren’t able to dominate opponents as often as they’d like, so they had to resort to winning sets through tiebreaks.

It’s a flawed stat but a fun one, so let’s break it down. Some of the names on this list might genuinely surprise you.

1. Aryna Sabalenka (22)

It might seem crazy that Sabalenka is number one, but she is, and by far. Twenty-two tiebreak sets this year puts her well ahead of everyone else on Tour.

It seems implausible for such an aggressive player, but at times she ran into issues closing out sets. Maybe the opposition raised their level. Maybe her own consistency wavered. Either way, the result was a pretty high number of tiebreaks for someone who usually just overpowers opponents into submission.

2. Linda Noskova (16)

Noskova is a really tough out who tends to play even the elite players quite close, so her being number two on this list isn’t a massive surprise. She’s a very talented young player who still has ways to go, but even now she’s proven to be one of the biggest competitors on tour.

When you’re pushing top players to tiebreaks regularly, that’s a sign of things to come. Sixteen of them in a season shows she belongs at this level.

3. Elena Rybakina (14)

It shouldn’t come as a massive surprise that Rybakina is number three because some of her matches can be quite close. In fact, if she’s not crushing opponents, then most of her matches are quite close.

Fourteen tiebreaks don’t even look that high compared to the type of elite opposition she faced often this year. When you’re playing at the top of the Tour week in and week out, tight sets are just part of the deal.