--- description: Find out why Aryna Sabalenka was selected for TIME‘s 2026 list of the most influential people in sports. title: TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026: Aryna Sabalenka image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8da8043985c6cbd3/6a209f67961c5237320fdc4f/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Aryna-Sabalenka.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Jun 09, 2026 # Aryna Sabalenka by [Sean Gregory](/author/sean-gregory/) ## Sean Gregory Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent  David Ramos—Getty Images The defending two-time [U.S. Open champion](https://time.com/7018984/aryna-sabalenka-wins-us-open-2024/ "undefined") and world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka is positioned for a dominant run. The Belarusian hits the hardest forehands in the game. And while her emotional outbursts have backfired at times, they make her even more compelling to watch. A four-time Grand Slam title winner—Sabalenka also won the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024—she recently advocated for players to receive a larger cut of revenue at Grand Slam tournaments, going so far as to predict a walkout if organizers don’t step up. “I think at some point we will boycott it,” she said at the Italian Open in May. “I feel like that’s going to be the only way to fight for our rights.” Some of the game’s luminaries, such as Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, and [Coco Gauff](https://time.com/collections/time100-leadership-series/6970223/coco-gauff-interview-2024/ "undefined"), have backed Sabalenka’s stance. Aryna Sabalenka: TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/aryna-sabalenka/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/aryna-sabalenka/"},"headline":"Aryna Sabalenka","datePublished":"2026-06-09T12:00:50.994Z","dateModified":"2026-06-09T12:00:51.160Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/aryna-sabalenka/","keywords":["list","franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8da8043985c6cbd3/6a209f67961c5237320fdc4f/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Aryna-Sabalenka.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sean Gregory","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/"}],"creator":"Sean Gregory","articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8da8043985c6cbd3/6a209f67961c5237320fdc4f/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Aryna-Sabalenka.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/aryna-sabalenka/","name":"Aryna Sabalenka"}}]}] ```