This was published 3 months ago
‘Mentally I’m ready for whatever’: Sabalenka reaches her moment of truth against Zheng in title defence
By Scott Spits
Little more than 12 months ago, Aryna Sabalenka was officially the fifth-best women’s player in the world, a star of the game boasting awe-inspiring power, but one for which questions surrounded her consistency and composure.
During last year’s Australian Open she faced ongoing scrutiny about her previously erratic second serve, but she put those concerns to bed when she explained how she’d successfully sought out a biomechanist in 2022 to wipe out the yips.
Aryna Sabalenka defeated Coco Gauff to reach the women’s final.Credit: Eddie Jim
The rest is, as they say, history as Sabalenka charged to the 2023 women’s title in Melbourne, edging out Elena Rybakina in a three-set thriller between two of the women’s game’s hard hitters.
That captivating night preceded a standout year for the Belarusian, culminating with a stint as the world No.1 and an appearance in a second major final, when she was beaten by Coco Gauff in a three-setter at last year’s US Open.
On the eve of this year’s Australian Open, Sabalenka told this masthead of her strong confidence in her improved mental fortitude.
And her words have been backed up by a strong body of evidence as she cut a swathe through this year’s women’s draw, not even dropping a set on the way to the final. The strong resistance offered by Gauff in their return bout in Thursday night’s semi-final was eventually cast aside as Sabalenka won 7-6 (7-2), 6-4.
World No.1 Iga Swiatek exited in the third round this year in Melbourne, raising more than a few questions about her results on Melbourne’s hardcourts. Just what else will unfold in women’s tennis this year is still to be revealed, but Sabalenka again stands ready to strike.
Not only is she within touching distance of becoming the first women’s defending champion Down Under in more than a decade (Victoria Azarenka was the last), but still just 25 she could be laying the foundations for a period at the top.
“Looking back ... we fixed that problem,” Sabalenka told this masthead when quizzed about those infamous serving woes, including 19 double faults in one Australian Open match – a match in which, remarkably, she still won two years ago.
“We’ll keep working on it, keep improving on it, and making sure it will never ever happen again.
“It it happens, I’m ready for that.”
She’s been true to her word.
Having finished last year as world No.2 and a grand slam champion, Sabalenka explained how her new-found confidence, backed up by consistent results, showed she had evolved.
“Mentally I’m ready for whatever,” Sabalenka said on the eve of the Open.
The challenge of defending her title against Chinese 12th seed Zheng Qinwen is new territory for Sabalenka but any talk about the notion of trying to protect something she owns goes against the grain of how she got to this point in the first place, according to her entourage.
The idea of playing ‘to not lose’ just won’t work, says her fitness coach Jason Stacy.
“If we think about we’re defending something, we’re trying to keep something we already have, that’s just .... playing it safe and protect what you have,” Stacy said.
“We don’t care about that any more.
“We’re here to play to win. She has her strategy, she has her approach to things and it’s her job to dictate the patterns, dictate the rhythms, and just make sure regardless of what happens, she’s here ‘playing to win’, not worrying about what happened the day before, yesterday or last year.”
For Sabalenka, the message is simple. “I’m kind of, like, I don’t know, not like I’m ignoring the pressure. I’m just shifting my focus and it’s working well so far.
“It’s one more to go, and I’ll do my best.”
The unlikely final against Zheng, with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup on the line, also gives the chance for Sabalenka to put some exclamation marks next to some striking numbers.
She has not dropped a set in six matches so far, and her numbers are reminiscent of some of the better performances by eventual women’s major champions in recent times.
Fighting off Gauff after a tense opening set decided by a tie-breaker before she closed out the semi win with a 6-4 second set meant Sabalenka has conceded only 26 games in six matches in Melbourne this year.
That compares with Ash Barty’s 2022 Australian Open numbers (a total of 30 games lost for the tournament) and the efforts of Maria Sharapova in Melbourne in 2008 (32 games lost for the tournament).
Swiatek, in her remarkable charge to the 2020 Roland Garros title as a little-known player, conceded just 28 games in seven matches and also didn’t lose a set.
Victory for Zheng on Saturday night would be the culmination of a gradual and impressive charge up the rankings for the Chinese 21-year-old, who had a season-end ranking of 126 in 2021 before she established herself in the world’s top-30 over the past two years.
Zheng Qinwen defeated Dayana Yastremska to reach her first grand slam singles final.Credit: Eddie Jim
The symmetry of a grand slam triumph for China a decade after Li Na won the Australian Open is an undeniably appealing prospect for tournament organisers, and sports storytellers, too.
Her coach, Pere Riba, who has been by his player’s side since she was 17, spoke glowingly of her work ethic.
“When we started I saw that [she was] really hungry, always she wants to improve,” said Riba.
“I’m very proud of her, because she’s doing the right things.”
However, Riba, who rejoined her camp for the 2024 season, concedes there is also an omnipresent danger of over-training, too.
“The first week that we start to work, like, [a] long time ago, I say, ‘OK, 7.00 in the morning’, and then we go to practice,” Riba said.
“Then we practice a lot of hours. I say [the] next day the same, next day the same. I was thinking that after four or five days she’s gonna say, ‘I’m tired’.
“To be honest, I have to say sometimes we are getting angry, because she wants to do it more, and … I have to stop to her.
“She really wants to be there in the top, and I’m really, really happy for her because she deserve it.”
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