Sabalenka's partnership with Swiatek is similar to Federer and Nadal's friendship
Rivals on the court, but then there is a relationship of esteem and friendship outside, like that between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe and the more recent one between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal: now there is the one between WTA No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and her greatest rival, Iga Swiatek.
Sabalenka will try to win the Australian Open for the third consecutive year: a feat last accomplished by Martina Hingis between 1997 and 1999. The season of the world number one will begin at the WTA 500 in Brisbane and the name of her first opponent will come out of the challenge between Viktoriya Tomova and Renata Zarazua.
During the Media Day, the Belarusian spoke about her attempt to defend her title and her new friendship with Iga Swiatek, born thanks to a TikTok made at the WTA Finals. Since then, the two have trained together on more than one occasion: it's no coincidence, given that Aryna is one of the friendliest tennis players on the WTA Tour, as she also has friendships with Paula Badosa and Ons Jabeur.
"I have a great memory, I wanted to come back, I feel at home in Australia. I hope everything goes well. Being number one doesn't make a difference, no matter what your ranking is: you still have to go out there, compete, fight and do your best. It doesn't matter if you're number one, two, three or a hundred.
I have confidence in myself in the Grand Slam tournaments. I know I'm capable of a lot of things and I know I can keep that beautiful trophy with me. There are still a lot of things to do to confirm it, I prefer to think day by day. It's nice to know that I can win the Australian Open, but it's better to focus on yourself and hope that everything works out," she said.
"Swiatek? It was fun. It all started at the WTA Finals when I asked her to do a TikTok. I thought we should be together, have fun and just enjoy our rivalry, not be too hard on each other. Since then we've already trained together a couple of times," she added.
It may seem like Déjà Vu, but the one between the Belarusian and the Polish reminds one of the friendship (more sober and today very deep) between Federer and Nadal. And this is also the beauty of our beloved tennis.
