How to control emotions rather than letting emotions control ourselves during intense moments? We saw Aryna Sabalenka smashing a racquet in frustration in the locker after her disappointing loss to Coco Gauff at the 2023 US Open final. Recalling those moments, she once said, “I had really tough lessons here in the past. I think I had so many opportunities here, but I didn’t use it for different reasons. I wasn’t ready, then I got emotional, then I just couldn’t handle the crowd.” Although she lost that match, Sabalenka learned quite a few lessons from that loss which she implemented in the 2024 US Open. Result? She won the title this year!
Aryna Sabalenka’s long battle with controlling her emotions during the matches is well known. However, she looked a bit different this year, a way more relaxed and composed towards her goals. What’s the secret behind this change in attitude? During a recent press conference, Sabalenka revealed, “I improved so many things which give me more confidence that I can win the match no matter what. Probably this is what gives me that belief and that calmness on court that, okay, no matter what, I’ll be able to fight and I’ll be able to find my way in this match.“
She further added, “But also, I mean, in the past I had a lot of difficult things to face. After you face certain things, you realize it’s just a sport. Okay, if you’re not going to win this match, what happens? Nobody going to die. You’re not going to die. It’s okay. You’re going to go in another tournament and you’re going to try your best in the next one.” After reaching the SF of the 2021 Wimbledon, Aryna Sabalenka admitted that after every Slam, she used to get very disappointed with herself. Frustrations crept inside her mind when she failed to handle the pressure. “I actually thought that I would never make it to the second week,” Sabalenka said at that time.
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From losing confidence to building confidence through her hard work on and off the court, Aryna Sabalenka has come a long way. The first instance of her portraying her confidence was seen during one of her interviews from December 2023. During a conversation about her goals for the 2024 season, Sabalenka revealed that she’s going to try her best to win a few more major titles in the 2024 season. However, the main part of that speech that caught all the attention was, “You can beat me. But I’m going to prepare every match and have huge chances to win.”
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via Imago Sep 7, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; Aryna Sabalenka celebrates with the championship trophy after her match against Jessica Pegula (USA) (not pictured) in the women’s singles final of the 2024 U.S. Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images
That’s what a champion mentality is all about! This year, Sabalenka won three titles and two out of them were Grand Slam titles. She looked more confident this year and her fearless approach is what perhaps helped her bring these glories. Previously, she used to think something bad was going to happen to her if she failed to win her matches. These thoughts later on, created all those unnecessary pressures and brought in more frustrations in her mind. However, things have changed very much for Sabalenka from those days.
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“Nowadays I’m just, you know, working hard, I’m trying to improve myself every day. Every time I’m on the court, I’m trying to give my best. If you give your best, you didn’t win the match, okay. You learn and you try better next time,” said Sabalenka in a recent press conference. What does Aryna Sabalenka’s coach, Anton Dubrov say about this mind-boggling change in attitude of the Belarusian superstar?
Anton Dubrov recalls those “wild stress” moments in Aryna Sabalenka’s initial phases in her career
After winning the 2024 AO, Aryna Sabalenka stated that her clinical performances are a testament to how much she and her whole team have worked to improve her mental and tactical aspects of the game. They desperately wanted to fix this issue in Sabalenka’s game and finally, it seems they’ve found that secret formula. We’ve seen her coaching staff engaging in several fun activities during the Tour to keep a light-hearted environment inside the locker room. So, these prove that this transition didn’t happen all of a sudden but it required sheer dedication to become a better version.
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While comparing today’s Sabalenka with the one he saw in her early days, Dubrov stated, “At the early stage of her career, she went into wild stress and began not to play to her strengths and physicality, but to rush, play hyper-aggressively, behave loudly – and thus simply losing control.” However, according to the coach, Aryna Sabalenka now uses her stress as an advantage.
“Now she has learned to better direct stress where she can control it, to add pressure on her opponent. This process was long,” said Anton Dubrov. He even acknowledged Novak Djokovic’s incredible ability to turn the negativities in his favor in high-pressure situations. Although, Dubrov mentioned that Aryna Sabalenka is still far from reaching Djokovic’s level in that aspect, she was “striving” to incorporate this ability into her game. Share your thoughts on this transition of Aryna Sabalenka.