Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek added a few more pages to the fast-growing novel that is their on-court rivalry in 2024, from contesting one of the WTA’s best matches of the year in Madrid to Swiatek even declaring that the two “need each other to grow” during Roland Garros.
But as the 2025 season looms in earnest, the WTA’s two top players have also recently been redefining their relationship off the court: from making TikToks together to teaming up for practices.
The pair, who swapped places in the rankings in October, first gave fans a glimpse of a budding friendship at the year-end WTA Finals in Riyadh, where they teamed up for a practice and even filmed some candid content for Sabalenka’s preferred social media channel. That continued into the offseason in the Middle East, where they both participated in the World Tennis League team exhibition event: Before going their separate ways to Australia, the two major-winners teamed up for another training session.
“Keeping each other on our toes,” quipped Sabalenka in sharing a clip of the two doing agility exercises together.
And speaking to reporters ahead of the season-opening Brisbane International, where she is the defending finalist, Sabalenka, the more gregarious of the two, said that the good feelings that now exist between her and her chief rival are not just for the cameras.
