NEW YORK – Arena Sabalenka was 2,500 miles away on the beach in Mykonos, Greece, while Iga Sweet was winning her first Wimbledon title.
Despite the idyllic scenery, it wasn’t where Sabalenka wanted. Two days ago, she was on Centre Court to make her first final in the renowned majors. However, after she ultimately lost to runner-up Amanda Anisimova with a three-set heartbreaker, the world’s No. 1 knew she needed a break far from London or somewhere on the tennis court.
Her season, including her finals at the Australian Open and French Open, reaching a 1000-level title in Miami and Madrid, will be considered a huge success for most others on the tour, but she couldn’t help but feel that she would not be disappointed by shortening it again in the slams.
Sabalenka, 27, knew about the “beautiful beaches, beautiful waters, great food” of a Greek island. She spent seven days swimming, reading, relaxing, and “doing nothing” with words. The harsh, unusual downtime during the globetrot season allowed her to handle everything that happened throughout the year.
“It really gave me the time to think about the big games, the mentality I have, the mentality I need, how it is different from the previous games and what it needs to be the same,” Sabalenka told ESPN at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month. “I realized I need to respect the other person a little more and really fight for every point, but I also need to respect myself more.
“Sometimes I think I completely forget who I am and what I went through, and I’m strong enough to handle literally anything.”
After a brief break from vacation and sports, Sabalenka, who played in her second tournament, has returned to New York to defend the 2024 US Open title and close out her major season. On Wednesday, she defeated Polina Kudametova 7-6 (4), 6-2 in a nervous night session at Arthur Ash Stadium and advanced to the third round.
In five competitions between her and the coveted fourth slam trophy, Sabalenka relies on her revitalization mentality and more new lessons than ever before.
Hape is available It suggests her over 27 years.
The sudden loss of his father in 2019 and the suicide of former partner Konton Tinkortsov ahead of the Miami Open in 2024. She was suffering from YIPS in 2022. In 2023, she faced intense scrutiny about her relationship with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and her role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In June, she was widely criticized for her attitude and comments on defeat. Needless to say, there have been countless injuries and occasional struggles in staying motivated on tour.
None of them were easy. However, Sabalenka believes these challenges have given her resilience. So what are the toughest points during the match? literally game? That should be nothing.
But Sabalenka couldn’t do that, in the most important moment of the year, against the Madison Keys at the Australian Open and the Gouf in the French Open Finals. Instead of bashing her confidence and self-confidence, she found herself falling under pressure. She lets her decision be the second time and stops herself from going to her shot.
After losing to Melbourne’s keys and completing a rare three-peat bid at the event, she broke the racket in anger while the stadium fans watched.
“I completely forgot what I went through and my strength, and instead, all of my doubt and negativity creeps up,” Sabalenka said. “And that’s because I don’t respect myself enough.”
That frustration, coupled with increased fatigue only in all tournaments during the woesy European clay and herbivore season, revealed to Sabalenka that something must be changed before his defensive mission in New York. Mykonos does not play tennis or exercise. She wanted to miss it herself and get back in touch with anyone outside of professional athletes. She knew it was the only way she had a chance to win an open US title.
She had lay in the sun bed about six days after the trip, so she hadn’t missed it yet. That itselfHowever, she felt more and more guilty of lack of exercise. Not wanting to completely disrupt the atmosphere of the holiday, she quickly stood up and walked to the hotel gym just behind her.
“I didn’t want to go and get some sneakers, so I was just in my bikini and flip flop,” Sabalenka said. “I didn’t want to bike and didn’t want to run, so I took a 30-minute walk on the treadmill with a slope and I felt wonderfully tired.
She didn’t exercise again during the trip, but she posted it on social media. But it didn’t feel like a chore or duty. In recent years, Sabalenka has been delighted with creating content. Often members of her team (who became a recognizable social media figure in its own right) will be joined by Sabalenka frequently in Tiktok’s various dances and other trends, sharing photos and snippets of her life on Instagram. Although she is known for her aggressive, powerful gaming style and intimidating growls on the court, she enjoys the opportunity to show her fans who she really is.
The experience and feedback were very positive. She started her own behind the scenes YouTube series this summer. The seventh episode, dubbed “Aryna’s Arena,” focuses on her previous open activities and was posted this week. After her comments following the final at the French Open, she says Sabalenka believes the channel allowed fans to get to know her better as her.
“I love sharing myself,” she said. “I just throw myself out there and the next time people go to the courthouse where they stand, they say, “It’s okay, she’s crazy now, she’s focused, she’s screaming, she’s screaming, she’s screaming, we know, we know.” other A side of Alina. “So I just want to feel a little more connected to people. ”
She was also able to move her energy away from tennis to something. Sabalenka is involved in much of the production, from coming up with ideas for episodes to trying to determine the ideal length for each one. Her first six episodes all ranged from five minutes, but the latest episodes have been a little longer. At the time of writing this series, it has totaled over 1 million views.
In her previous time The year of the tour will take some time to regain her form on the tennis court after a break. She wants to make everything perfect as soon as she comes back and gets mad at not. But that’s not the case anymore. Now she accepts the initial discomfort.
“Today, I’m just making it easy, I’m not in a hurry to do things,” Sabalenka said. “We’re not obsessed with strength. We’re slowly trying to remind my body. And with this mindset, there’s one or two hits, the rhythm of movement, the sense of the ball, the back.”
Sabalenka chose to skip the Canadian opening that began at the end of July, citing fatigue in her formal announcement, explaining that the decision would give her “the best chance for success this season.” While her peers were in Montreal, Sabalenka was training with her team at her home base, Miami.
The extra time really allowed her to get back to normal and be prepared for New York mentally and physically. She also wanted to return to Cincinnati as a defending champion and return to court. She won her first three matches, including a three-set thriller against 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, but ultimately lost to former Wimbledon champion Elena Rivakina (6-1, 6-4) in the quarter-finals. Rivakina was particularly encouraging the dominant serving outings, but Sabalenka didn’t find any momentum in the match and didn’t look like the unruly force she had in the pre-season parts and in 2024.
That performance, coupled with her results throughout the season, has not accurately gained confidence about her chances of winding up the trophy next week.
“She was consistent (and) she reached the end of these big tournaments, but the nerves got in the way,” said former World No. 4 and current ESPN analyst Mary Joe Fernandez ahead of the US opening. “I’ve felt she’s been struggling a bit over the last few weeks. Usually, her backhand feels like she’s dropping her a lot. I’m going to mentally see if she puts it together.”
Of course, things can change rapidly in tennis. And Sabalenka is more capable than to turn things around quickly.
“If she plays well, obviously look outside,” Fernandez added. “She can take the racket out of someone else’s hand.”
Throughout her first two matches, Sabalenka looked as scary as her charming enemy at times. Her match with Kudermetova was far from her best, and although she broke in the opening game and needed a tiebreak to clinch the first set, she still found a way to win. Even when she was clearly annoyed at various moments. She later reminded herself that “every point could be a crucial moment on the set,” and that realization motivated her to continue playing aggressively and remain mentally strong.
She left almost doubtful about who the good players were in the second set. Sabalenka currently has the second best odds to win the tournament after Swiatek alone, according to ESPN BET.
She will then win Friday the 2021 US Open runner-up and 31st seed Leila Fernandez in the third round in the rematch of the semi-final match four years ago. In the quarterfinals, a resurrected Rivakina or red-hot Radukanu will potentially be waiting for her, and could be her first true test.
Sabalenka revealed that he wants to win again at US Open. She has repeatedly called it her favorite tournament, which has been her singular goal for the past few months. He is introduced to the crowd as the reigning champion and subsequent receptions from the crowd just makes her want more.
But even if someone wants it, nothing is guaranteed for tennis. Sabalenka knows she might leave empty-handed. And for those who have experienced it as much as she does, that would be fine too.
Anyway, for now.
“Of course, I would like to finish the season with a Grand Slam and (end of the year) number one in the world,” Sabalenka said before the tournament began. “But if this goal is not achieved, I think this season will be truly amazing to me.
“I will work even harder in the preseason to make sure next year (IS) is no longer a year of success.
