She is one of the few players to have beaten world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No 2 Iga Swiatek in 2025 and now Clara Tauson has opened up on how she got the better of the two biggest hitters in women’s tennis.
Speaking exclusively to Tennis365 at the Dongfeng · Voyah Wuhan Open, Tauson reflected on her wins against Sabalenka in Dubai, where she went on to reach the final of the W1000 event and her victory against Swiatek at the Canadian Open in August.
“I think it obviously gives you confidence that you can play with these players and beat them as well,” Tauson told Tennis365.
“I always believed I could beat the top players. I have had some matches where I was 6-4 in the third set with them and this showed I was close, what was possible.
“Beating players like that shows what you can do and it also means it raises some expectations and maybe I need to be better at managing that.
More Tennis News
Mirra Andreeva reveals she has sought help to deal with pressure
Emma Raducanu opens up on her two most agonising defeats ahead of return to action
“Next year, hopefully I can do the same kind of year and hopefully even better, but it’s a different scenario for me right now than it was one year ago.
It’s different emotions that I need to manage and I need to obviously try to keep playing like I’m playing and hopefully I have a couple of good tournaments left in me.”
Tauson has been in touching distance of the top 10 of the WTA Rankings in 2025 and now her target is to break into that elite list.
“It’s all about beating the players in the lower ranks consistently as well as beating the top players because the levels in tennis now are so high,” she continued.
“Every player in the top 100 can do anything, so it’s all about the kind of day you are having. That’s why we see so many unknown players coming through each week and going far in tournaments.
“You never know what might happen, whoever you are playing. Some people can have a bad day, some people can have a good day. It’s all about how you manage the day you’re having. Everyone can have their golden week. It’s all about having the five or six weeks of consistency in a row. That’s what’s important.
“I guess getting into the top 10 for next year has to be my target now, but just staying in this ranking range is amazing for me.
“This time last year, I think I was like No 80 in the world, so it is obviously a much, much better year. There are still some areas to improve, but it has been an amazing year for me.”
Danish tennis is enjoying a boom period with Tauson and Holger Rune raising the profile of the sport in a country not noted for tennis success and she hopes there is much more to come.
“We did it all by ourselves to get this far,” she said her success alongside Rune in the last couple of years.
“Hopefully it can help other Danish players in the future and we are already seeing that now, I think.
“It’s great for the people back home to see that I could actually do it after five years on the tour.”
Tauson is the No 10 seed in Wuhan and will take on Olga Danilovic in her opening match.
READ NEXT: Clara Tauson’s emotional win – ‘Two days ago, my grandfather unfortunately passed away’
