​Aryna Sabalenka did not have high hopes for herself heading into the US Open this year.Sabalenka lost to Elena Rybakina in the US Open final, to whom she also lost her world number one ranking after the tournament.This meant that Sabalenka had not won one Grand Slam title in a season for the first time since 2022.Despite this, Sabalenka has now admitted that she actually surpassed her own expectations at the US Open this year.Aryna Sabalenka claims she did not expect to reach the US Open finalSabalenka had a relatively disappointing grass court season and preparation for the US Open in the North American hard court swing. As she prepares for her first tournament since the US Open in Beijing, Sabalenka has admitted that she was proud of how she overcame recent difficulties to make it all the way to the final in New York.“I have to say that of course the end of the US Open was not the way I expected it to be but I am still super proud of the work that has been done since the clay court season,” Sabalenka said in her pre-tournament interview ahead of the China Open.“If someone would have told me after Wimbledon ‘you will be able to get to the final of the US Open’ I really would not have believed it, because I really struggled physically and mentally to get back into my tough mindset. I am super proud that I was able to build myself back mentally and physically.”While Sabalenka has not won a Grand Slam title this year, she still has a chance to reclaim the world number one ranking from Rybakina before 2027.Aryna Sabalenka says how she feels about being back in ChinaSabalenka now only has three tournaments left to play in 2026, starting with the China Open in Beijing. This year will be Sabalenka’s fifth appearance at the WTA 1000 tournament, having never surpassed the quarter-finals in Beijing before. Sabalenka did not play the China Open last year, but she is returning to the tournament in 2026 as the second seed.YearAryna Sabalenka’s previous results at the China Open2018Quarter-final2019Second Round2023Quarter-final2024Quarter-finalAlthough she has never been in the Beijing semi-finals, Sabalenka has won three titles at another WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan, something she pointed to when speaking about her feelings of returning to China.“I am happy to be back. I love playing in China,” added Sabalenka. “I have had a lot of great results here, so I am excited to be back on court and I think at the US Open, after struggling in Europe, I felt great physically and mentally on court, so I am excited to see what I can achieve.”Sabalenka receives an automatic bye to the second round as the second seed, where she will face Renata Zarazua.