Sabalenka on the journey to self-discovery as Australian Open begins
Last week in Brisbane, Aryna Sabalenka was asked about defending her title at the Australian Open.
“Just having this kind of thought in the background of your mind: 'I have title to defend,’ makes it not easy,” she said. “Especially with the Grand Slams, it can get super emotional.
“But I think I did a great job in the preseason, and I think I’m ready to do it.”
The last one to do it was Victoria Azarenka, in 2012-13. Sabalenka looked terrific beating Azarenka in the Brisbane semifinals, but that was before she was scalded 6-0, 6-3 by Elena Rybakina in the final.
“Elena just played incredible tennis,” Sabalenka told reporters Friday in Melbourne. “She just crushed it. I tried to do my best, and I’m just thankful for those three games. After the finals, was another week to work on those mistakes and just prepare myself as well as I can.”
Sabalenka’s first-round match against qualifier Ella Seidel is Sunday night in Rod Laver Arena. They have never played.
Sabalenka is an essential character in Season 2 of the Netflix docuseries “Break Point” which details the highs and lows of 2023 and became available Wednesday. Sabalenka, in less than 10 months, experiences enough dramatic reversals to fill an entire career.
After winning her first major in Melbourne in Episode 1, she falls in the semifinals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Then, near the end of Episode 6, wins the first set of the US Open final against 19-year-old Coco Gauff and seems on the verge of collecting her second. But Gauff comes back to win her first major title. After shots of Gauff kissing the trophy we see Sabalenka, alone, in a dark tunnel under Arthur Ashe Stadium, smashing her Wilson racquet to pieces.
That episode is called “Becoming the One,” because despite losing, Sabalenka passed Iga Swiatek and became the WTA Tour’s 29th No.1 player. Less than two months later, she was back to No.2.
Sitting down for an extensive Netflix interview before the US Open began, Sabalenka opened up about her pursuit of No.1.
“I had this chance already, and I didn’t make it at the French Open,” she said. “I lost focus because I was thinking about becoming World No.1. I had so many chances, I just lost it.”
Sabalenka fell to Karolina Muchova 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 7-5 in a match that ran 3 hours, and 13 minutes and ended Sabalenka’s 12-match major winning streak.
“If it doesn’t kill us, it makes us stronger,” Sabalenka said, smiling. I’m getting [to be a] really strong person.”
Sabalenka reached the semifinals at all four majors last year, something no other woman came close to doing. She won 23 major matches, a total exceeded by only three women this century: Serena Williams, Justine Henin, and Jennifer Capriati -- by one. But now, the loss to Rybakina in the Brisbane final is another jagged spike in the graph of Aryna Sabalenka’s timeline.
“I did a big change in my mindset last year,” Sabalenka said in Brisbane. “I kind of accept the fact that I can lose, that everyone can go there and beat me if I’m not bringing my best tennis. Accepting this fact gives you more belief.
“Worst case, what happens? I’m going to lose a Grand Slam, lose some points, and drop a little bit in the ranking. There are so many tournaments ahead. I’m going to prepare every match and have huge chances to win the match after match, probably to hold the trophy.”
