Sabalenka races past Zheng to reach a fifth straight slam semi-final

At the beginning of this year, while she was still just one player in a field of challengers, Aryna Sabalenka made her primary goal for the season clear. The Belarusian rarely does things by half measures and so she did not merely want to win her first grand slam tournament, but she embraced the far greater challenge of trying to close the gap on Iga Swiatek and overtake her as the world No 1.

- Tumaini Carayol

Finally, she has secured that ultimate goal. But the work does not stop. With the No 1 ranking from next week secured, Sabalenka continued to march through the US Open draw as she overpowered Zheng Qinwen of China 6-1, 6-4 to return to the semifinals for the third consecutive year. "I'm super-proud of myself and my team that we have been able to adjust to different conditions, different courts," she said. "We were able to bring this consistency in my game."

Having struggled earlier in her career with a significant mental block in the major tournaments, Sabalenka has become the most reliable grand slam performer in the sport with remarkable consistency at the biggest events. The 25-year-old has now reached the semi-finals of five consecutive grand slams, and is now the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach the semifinals of all four grand slam tournaments in a year.