"I love being in this position as the defending champion," Sabalenka states before launching her US Open campaign

Aryna Sabalenka has come close to some prestigious titles this year, but the world number one has not won a Grand Slam title since last year's US Open.

A finalist at the Australian Open against Madison Keys and also a finalist at Roland Garros against Coco Gauff, the Belarusian player was then defeated in the Wimbledon semifinals by Amanda Anisimova.

Nevertheless, the 27-year-old player, who was unable to defend all her title points in Cincinnati, remains confident that she can quickly reverse the trend in the Majors.

Before making her debut on Sunday against Swiss player Rebeka Masarova, ranked 109th in the world, Sabalenka wants to learn from the lessons of her Grand Slam setbacks this year.

"So far, I'm having a fairly satisfying Grand Slam season. I lost two finals, but I learned some tough lessons. I also lost in the semifinals at Wimbledon, but the consistency is there.

I don't think I'm missing much to win these tournaments again. The US Open has always been my favorite Grand Slam. I love being in this position as the defending champion.

I hope the lessons I've learned in recent months will help me here," Sabalenka told Tennis Up To Date. She has reached the final in the last two editions of the US Open (winning one title).