Aryna Sabalenka’s past struggles with her serve have been a frustrating experience but she now believes it was a blessing in disguise.
Last season the Belarussian was one of the most erratic players in the women’s game with her producing more than 300 doubles faults in her first 37 matches played. Then towards the end of the season, there was a noticeable improvement in her serve and also in her results on the Tour.
Sabalenka has managed to continue her run of consistent form into 2023 and is currently experiencing her best-ever run at the Australian Open where she is making her sixth appearance in the main draw. On Monday she sealed a spot in the quarter-finals by defeating Belinda Bencic 7-5, 6-2. A player who had won her last seven matches played on the Tour.
“I’m super happy with the win and the level today on the court. She’s an unbelievable player. I didn’t start well in the beginning but was able to come back in the match,” the world No.5 said afterwards.
“It was a great match.”
So how has Sabalenka managed to turn her fortunes around in recent months? The surge has largely come as a result of her work with a specialized biomechanics trainer who focused on her serve. The two began collaborating last summer.
“I don’t want to say this, but I’m super happy that this thing with my serve happened to me. Before I wouldn’t be really open for that,” she said of working with a biomechanics specialist.
“I would be like, you know what, my serve is fine, I don’t want to change anything. (But) actually, even when my serve was working, it wasn’t really right.’
“I’m super happy that it’s happened to me. At that moment (in my career) I was open to whatever. I was just like, ‘please, someone help me to fix this f****ing serve.”
The 24-year-old says she started to notice an improvement from day one of working with the specialist. During her first four matches at the Australian Open, she won around 70% of her service points in each match. Furthermore, she has only hit eight double faults in the entire tournament.
“We watched a lot of videos. He was just showing what’s not really right about my serve, there’s no way I can put it in. Just a lot of videos, a lot of talking, a lot of trying things,” she explained.
“I remember the first day we worked, the time went so quickly. We were on the court for an hour and a half serving, serving. Because of the biomechanics, I didn’t spend so much energy. Everything was smoother.”
Sabalenka will take on Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the quarter-finals. Vekic, who is currently ranked 64th in the world, defeated Czech rising star Linda Fruhvirtova 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, in her fourth round match.
Sabalenka is yet to drop a set on the Tour this season. Prior to the Australian Open, she won her 11th WTA title in Adelaide.