The price of being Aryna Sabalenka

Fernando Murciego | 2 Oct 2024 | 10.11

Aryna Sabalenka and an important message from Beijing. Source: Getty

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The world of tennis watches Aryna Sabalenka with a sense of pride, seeing how the Belarusian has become the player everyone thought she had within her. A powerful, dominant, winning woman, and much more consistent than anyone could have imagined. And most importantly, never losing her smile. The Belarusian is enjoying this week at the WTA 1000 in Beijing, where she has already reached the quarterfinals. In a press conference, she warns that not everything is rosy, even if it may seem that way from the outside. After defeating Keys and setting up a match with Muchova in the next round, we hear the words of the world No. 2.

Comfortable victory over Keys

"I am super happy to have won this match in straight sets, especially against such a powerful opponent like Madison Keys. We had great battles in the past, so I value a lot getting this victory in two sets. It means I had a very good performance. Happy to get through this match, as I say."

Impressive serving statistics

"Definitely, I am not focusing on that, although it may not seem like it. I don't know, I don't think it was a memorable performance with my serve. I think I didn't rush any shot, in fact, the idea was always to build the point. In my mind, I was waiting for the right moment to make the correct shot and finish the point there, so I think that was the key."

The iconic phrase: 'I must be more boring on court'

"I may have been a bit wrong when I said that, I don't think I am boring. I am still able to show my fighting spirit on the court, I remain very competitive. I don't know what word to use to explain that topic, I suppose it is better understood if I refer to being more flat. I still enjoy going through some emotions that make the match not so dull to watch (laughs). I am happy with my winning streak, of course, so I hope to carry on with it and see how far I can go."

Winning streak of 15-0 and counting...

"It sounds very beautiful and easy, seems like where everyone would want to be, but I made many sacrifices throughout my career. Even this season, I went through some very tough moments for me. I sacrificed a lot for these wins, it’s not easy to get to this point or win these titles, it involves a lot of hard work, mental effort, and physical discipline. When you are able to meet all this is when you get the best feeling. That's when you enjoy this life, when you get excited in the matches, when difficult situations are no longer so difficult. You are even happy to face challenges, to challenge yourself, in every battle. I am grateful for the life I have right now, I hope to keep moving forward and putting in the same effort, we'll see how far I can go until the end of my career."

The mindset, her greatest ally

"I've been through many things in my career, I remind myself a lot of every tough moment I endured on the court, every moment I was able to handle during a tennis match. Sometimes a break point comes and you get overwhelmed, but it's just that, a break point, nothing more. Of course, you can handle that, you are strong enough to overcome that and much more. You have everything you need to win this match, you just have to trust yourself and fight for it."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El precio de ser Aryna Sabalenka