Aryna Sabalenka remains absent from the WTA Tour following her US Open final win, which arrived earlier this month against Amanda Anisimova.

Sabalenka is enjoying a break from tennis after her success in New York, where she claimed a fourth career Grand Slam title.

She successfully defended her US Open crown in Queens, with Sabalenka defeating 2024 runner-up Jessica Pegula along the way.

The Belarusian remains number one in the WTA rankings, although Iga Swiatek can close that gap after Sabalenka opted against playing the China Open.

The WTA 1000 event continues the busy calendar, with world number two Swiatek and defending champion Coco Gauff both in the field.

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Aryna Sabalenka praised for US Open feat which Roger Federer and Serena Williams never managed

Pegula is also in action at the China Open, ahead of which her coach Mark Knowles has looked back on her US Open semifinal loss to Sabalenka.

He said on The Inside-In Tennis podcast: “We all know the sport of tennis can be brutal. I think that was highlighted in that match.

“You have to give full credit to Aryna, she was able to come through on the big points, especially in the final set.

“I think on all four break points she hit first ball winners, which is kind of insane. I don’t think I’ve ever seen [Roger] Federer, Serena [Williams], [Novak] Djokovic do that. The all-time greats.

“So you almost feel victimised to a point, but you have to tip your cap. It’s frustrating. I think Jess played a terrific match and deserved to win but sports you can’t write your own script.

“That’s why we love sports. Not that Aryna deserved to lose but it almost felt like Jess deserved to win a little bit more.

“She didn’t win the match but I think she won a lot inside, her mentality, what she did and how she was able to really execute.

“She won 16 consecutive points on serve to close out the match. She won more points in the final set, higher winning percentage on first and second serve, all the numbers going against a big server against Sabalenka, if you just isolated the numbers from the final set, you would surely think that Jess won it. But she didn’t.

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“Actually recently, Iga [Swiatek] won another title over [Ekaterina] Alexandrova and I think Alexandrova won more points.

“That’s the brutality of tennis. I don’t know any other sport, you can’t score fewer points in a football or basketball game and win.

“It’s unfortunate and something that will eat at you, for sure, but when you step back and look at it, we just really applauded Jess. She did everything we asked her to do.

“Competed, brought the crowd in, showed great energy. So from a coaching standpoint you have a list and she checked all the boxes.”

Why Jessica Pegula also deserves praise despite US Open final loss to Aryna Sabalenka

Pegula can indeed hold her head high following her run at the US Open, which was ended only by eventual champion Sabalenka.

She dealt with the situation in New York expertly, having been under pressure to perform as a home player and as the 2024 runner-up.

Sabalenka was also her nemesis last year, winning their final 7-5, 7-5, which was improved upon by Pegula this time around to 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

But losing such a lead will have frustrated the American, as will her 2-8 win-loss record against the world number one.

She can, however, take some form of confidence and heart from her impressive display in general, with the same to be said of Alexandrova despite recently losing the Korea Open final to Swiatek.

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Pegula now turns her attention to Ajla Tomljanovic, her first opponent at the China Open after she received a bye in round one.

She’s also playing doubles with Ashlyn Krueger in Beijing, with the American duo taking on Chinese pair Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan.

It comes on the back of a strong run at the Billie Jean King Cup, where the USA were beaten finalists, with Pegula losing to Jasmine Paolini.