Aryna Sabalenka is determined to stay grounded heading into the Australian Open after capturing her 22nd WTA title at a key warm-up event on Sunday.
The world No.1 successfully defended her title at the Brisbane International on Sunday with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk. Sabalenka is only the third woman to win the tournament in consecutive years after Serena Williams and Karolina Pliskova. Against Kostyuk, she won 81% of her first service points and converted three out of eight break point opportunities.
Sabalenka stormed to her latest title without dropping a set in five matches played, with three of them being against seeded players. The Belarusian will be hoping to carry her momentum into the first Grand Slam of the season, which she is aiming to win for the third time in four years.
On paper, the 27-year-old is one of the top picks for the title at Melbourne Park. However, Sabalenka is keen on distancing herself from being regarded as the favorite.
“It’s tennis, it’s sport, and that’s why it’s so beautiful because you cannot predict anything,” she said during her press conference.
“It’s like every day you go out there and you prove your level, you prove your point.
“This week I did it really well, but nobody knows what’s gonna happen in the future, but the only thing I’m sure of is that I will be there, I’ll be fighting, I’ll do my best to go as far as possible and do a little bit better than I did last year.
“My focus is on my game and developing myself and making sure that I’m strong and healthy heading to the Australian Open.”
Elaborating further, Sabalenka also believes there is plenty of room for improvement in her game. She is coached on the Tour by Anton Dubrov.
“There are so many things I can improve at, and that’s the beauty of sport. There is always that little percent for little room for improvement.” Sabalenka explains.
“I definitely feel really great about my game, about my tennis, but I also know that there are a lot of things to improve and to work on. That’s what we’re gonna focus on next week.”
No handshake, no problem
At the end of the Brisbane final, Kostyuk declined to shake hands with Sabalenka due to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. Sabalenka’s native country, Belarus, is accused of supporting Russia in the conflict, which is why players from both countries are currently banned from team events and their players can only participate under a neutral status.
“It’s their position. What can I do? I don’t mind that. I don’t care about that,” She commented on the handshake stance of Kostyuk and her peers.
“When I go into the match, it’s all about tennis and sport. When I go out there, I think about my tennis and the things I have to do to get the win. Doesn’t matter if it’s Marta Kostyuk or Jessica Pegula there. I still go out there and I still try my best, and I’ll still fight for the trophy. I have nothing to prove. I go there and I just compete as an athlete.”
Evgeniy Zukin, who is the executive director of the Ukrainian Tennis Federation (UTF), previously told Ubitennis that players from his country are expected to take part in the handshake stance. However, they are not obligated to do so. The gesture is said to be done out of respect for those involved in the fighting.
During the trophy presentation, Kostyuk addressed the situation in her country.
“I wanna say a few words about Ukraine. I play every day with pain in my heart,” Kostyuk said on court. “There are thousands of people who are without light and warm water right now. It’s -20 degrees outside… My sister is sleeping under three blankets because of how cold it is.”
Speaking to reporters later in the day, Kostyuk defended her decision to speak about Ukraine by stating, “In my position, it’s not okay to not talk about it. It’s just… inhumane for me.”
Both Sabalenka and Kostyuk will next play at the Australian Open, which gets underway next Sunday.
