Aryna Sabalenka's chances of reaching World number 1 look bleak after shocking loss to Muchova in China Open

Aryna Sabalenka's chances of finishing as the World number 1 this season looking really tough after her quarter-final loss against Karolina Muchova in the China Open. A huge mountain to climb for the Belarusian who will have to come up with big wins after this loss which will keep her at number 2 right now.

There is no doubt this is a season where we have seen some brilliant performances from Aryna Sabalenka where she has won two Grand Slam events and had a great performance in the last Grand Slam of the season in New York.

However, the 3-time Grand Slam winner had to suffer a disappointing loss against Carolina Muchova who came out on top in a three-set thriller and has made her chances of finishing as the World number 1 even more difficult going forward.

Also read: ' There are only three tournaments left...'- Aryna Sabalenka on finishing this season as World number 1

Sabalenka and her chances to become a World number 1

Aryna Sabalenka was no doubt the favourite to win the China Open, especially after her incredible performance in the US Open as well, unfortunately, the World number 2 and 3-time Grand Slam winner's third consecutive defeat in China has not only ruined her chances of winning another big title but it has also affected her chances of finishing as the World number 1 and overtaking Iga Swiatek at the end of the season. This has made it a huge mountain to climb and with not a lot of tournaments left this season.

Also read: 'Imagine how tired we are'- Fans react to Iga Swiatek withdrawing from Wuhan Open after splitting from coach.

We cannot say there is no chance for the Belarusian to achieve this feat since the next tournament coming up is the Wuhan Open which is another WTA 1000 tournament to look forward to and the fact that Swiatek has withdrawn from the competition has given her another chance, however, she will also have to back that up with more wins until the end of the season and the margin between them is still too much. It is safe to say that though there might be some chance it is looking slightly bleak at the moment.