Aryna Sabalenka: A Champion’s Mindset
She was one ball away from conquering Madrid for the third time, but Aryna Sabalenka already has that level of maturity to stay on the positive side of things. Upon her arrival at the WTA 1000 in Rome, the Belarusian left a press conference full of interesting points.
Rome, next stop
“I am super happy to be back in Rome, one of my favorite tournaments. In Madrid, I went through a couple of difficult weeks, of course, the result of the final was not what I expected. Despite this, I am happy with my performance during those two weeks, so I am looking forward to starting to play here.”
Madrid hangover
“I take away many positive aspects from Madrid; it was like competing against myself, but I found my game. That’s where everything came together again, and I recovered to a higher level. I had a couple of really tough battles against some of the top players and got some wins. I was one step away from adding a new title, but that’s tennis. As I said, I am happy for those two weeks; I have to start managing both the good and not-so-good weeks that way.”
The value of your team
“I am always very close to my team; they are my family. They have been with me no matter what, I had many difficult situations, but they were always there, supporting me and doing everything for me. I try to pay them back, be there for them, give them what they need and help them. My team is quite big, so I feel very comfortable being with such a big team; we are a big family. They feel like my home; I am grateful to have them so close; they make all this possible. It is also important to choose the right people, who you can trust.”
The Swiatek-Sabalenka-Rybakina trident
“Obviously, Iga is much better on clay than me, for example. I would say Elena is better on grass. Maybe I feel a little more comfortable on hard court. I can’t say it’s all about the surface; time has shown that I can beat them on clay, on cement, and on grass. It’s basically a couple of key moments in each match; that’s where the best one wins. For example, in the last game with Iga, I wouldn’t say I did wrong on those five key points, I did the right thing, but she did a little better. It’s not all about the surface; it’s a whole process. You have to learn from those mistakes you made and then work on them and be better next time.”
Calm with its last ending
“If I had lost 6-0 and 6-0, I’m sure I would stay much more negative for a while because I would feel like I didn’t do my best, or that I didn’t do everything I could. In this final, I left everything; I fought for every point as best I could, although I missed a couple of opportunities. At the same time, like I said before, it’s not like I was doing the wrong thing; it’s that Iga did better than me in those key moments, but next time I’ll do better. That game is now part of the past; we have to move forward and work a little more.”
Manage defeat
“I suffer a little, but I have also broken my racket several times because I couldn’t stand that emotion, but then I’m fine. When I was a girl, I also cried; it made me angry, but the emotions were different. What I learned in the past is just an impulse; now you can lose, but you have thousands of opportunities to get that victory. It’s just an impulse; you have to have perspective, accept defeat and move on, work and try better next time. If you reach the later stages of the tournaments, but it is impossible to always win. “Sometimes it is necessary to lose to learn something; if it happens to you in big tournaments, you will surely remember that lesson for a lifetime.”
No attention to the ranking
“I remember in 2018 when I reached the top 10 for the first time; throughout the following season, I was thinking about defending those points at the end of the year. I was struggling a lot; I didn’t give my best; I got very frustrated thinking about the future and stuff like that. Later I learned that that reality does not matter because that year I defended all the points, but I stayed at the same level. Right now, if you do well in about 6-7 tournaments, you know you’ll be in the top 10; you don’t have to worry about points. You have all year to do well and fight to reach the top, but all this comes with experience. At first, I struggled a lot, but I learned from those details. I know that if I am physically and mentally ready to play, I will do well and reach the later stages of the tournament.”
