Not too long ago the biggest test for Aryna Sabalenka on the court was trying to control her problematic serve and not chasing after a Grand Slam title.
Throughout 2022 the Belarussian played 55 matches where she produced an outstanding 428 double faults in 601 service games. It was a difficult period for the talented Sabalenka with her coach, Anton Dubrov, contemplating walking away from her team as he felt he could do no more to help her improve. Dubrov has worked with the tennis star as her mentor since last summer and was also previously her hitting partner.
“He just said, “I don’t know what to do. I think you need to find someone else who’s going to help you,” Sabalenka recounted.
“But I was like I knew that it’s not about him. It’s just something about me. I just have to figure out the problem. We had to get through it.”
So what was the root of the problem? In recent years there has been a growing trend in players saying their use of a sports psychologist has enabled them to elevate their game. However, Sabalenka is not one of those players after deciding to stop working with her psychologist in the off-season and taking the mental aspect of her game into her own hands. Following her semi-final win over Magda Linette at the Australian Open, she told reporters that ‘nobody (other) than me will help me.”
Instead, it was her work with a biomechanics trainer which helped correct her problematic serve. Biomechanics is the process of looking into detail the technical aspects of a player’s game to establish where the issue lies and how it can be corrected. Sabalenka began her collaboration last summer and her results were noticeable during the second half of the 2022 season where she reached the last four of the US Open before winning the WTA Finals.
But Grand Slam success had evaded her until this year’s Australian Open where she won six matches in straight sets before encountering a formidable challenge against Elena Rybakina in Saturday’s final. Coming back from a set down, Sabalenka battled to a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, win in what was a match of high quality and heavy hitting from both players.
“I think it’s (her win) even more enjoyable after all those tough matches. I feel right now that I needed those tough losses to kind of understand myself a little bit better. It was like a preparation for me,” Sabalenka reflected on her past misfortunes on the Tour.
“I actually feel happy that I lost those matches, so right now I can be a different player and just different Aryna.”
Despite her previous results, the 24-year-old admits she went through a situation similar to impostor syndrome where a person struggles to comprehend that their success has been legitimately achieved or deserved.
“I always had this weird feeling that when people would come to me and ask for a signature, I would be like, Why are you asking for my signature? I’m nobody. I’m a player. I don’t have a Grand Slam and all this stuff,” she explains.
“I changed how I felt. I started to respect myself more. I started to understand that I’m here because I work so hard and I’m a good player.’
“Having this understanding that I’m a good player, I could handle a lot of emotions and a lot of things on the court. Every time I had a tough moment, I was just reminding myself that I’m good enough to handle all this.”
Now with a Grand Slam title in her pocket, Sabalenka’s belief and confidence in the sport grows. Although trying to maintain her momentum on the Tour is easier said than done. At present, there are nine active WTA players who have won multiple Grand Slam titles.
The future is undoubtedly bright for Sabalenka who will rise to No.2 on Monday. But it remains to be seen how much of a dominant force she could be on the Tour in the coming months.
