Aryna Sabalenka says she is glad that her first Grand Slam title came at the age of 24 as she would probably be struggling for years with her results if that happened when she was 18.
After her Australian Open triumph, Sabalenka reached the Dubai quarterfinal in her next tournament.
On Tuesday, Sabalenka defeated 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova in the Indian Wells round-of-16.
Some players tend to suffer from “a Grand Slam hangover” after their first Major title but Sabalenka has been playing well since winning the Australian Open.
“Well, I’m really glad that I won my first Grand Slam in this age, because I felt like if I would be 18 years old to win the Grand Slam, then I would be struggling for years. I kind of understand that, yeah, that’s happen and that’s was my dream. It was amazing moment, but time to move on. It’s another tournament, it wasn’t the only one goal. So that’s why for me it was not easy, but I have this understanding that no matter what, I have to keep going, keep fighting, and keep showing my best tennis if I want to keep winning. So for me it wasn’t that tough,” Sabalenka said.
Sabalenka on young players suffering from ‘a Grand Slam hangover’
Sabalenka, who will be turning 25 in May, is well-experienced and that’s probably a big reason why she has been able to continue playing at a high level.
But some young players have to learn the hard way how to keep the same level of play, form and motivation after a first Grand Slam win.
“That’s really tough, but I think they have to go through it to — they just have to go through it. Nothing is going to be easy. Yeah, they won their first Grand Slam, which is amazing. They showed their best there. Yeah, I think they have to go through, not a lot of, but they have to go through some tough period to understand no matter what they have to keep fighting. Nobody going to give it easily to them, so they have to work for it. Yeah, I think that’s just a process. Anyway, they will figure out later,” Sabalenka said.