Aryna Sabalenka will have the chance to play in the US Open final for the second year in a row. To reach this milestone, the two-time Grand Slam champion defeated American Emma Navarro in straight sets, shattering the Flushing Meadows crowd’s dream of an all-American women’s singles final.
The Belarusian revealed at theĀ press conference that she learned from the experience of playing against an American in the US Open final last year, explaining that even though the crowd was cheering for Emma, āāthey couldn’t help her win the match unless Aryna herself let them into her head.
“They’re cheering for her, but how can they help her win the game? Only if I let them get into my head and only if I get lost, you know, go crazy. So, yeah, the tricky thing is the noise of how loud it can be in this stadium. Today wasn’t such a crazy day, actually. They were loud, but during the point they were respectful and relaxed, you know.
Last year they were just super loud, even during the point. It was so loud, so it was blocking my ears, so it was, like, a lot of pressure. I think the mistake was that I was focusing on myself, but I didn’t think that she was actually on the same court, that she was hearing the same noise as the crowd and that we were all in the same situation,” she explained.
Aryna SabalenkaĀ© YouTube screenshot
The Belarusian went on to explain that losing the US Open final last year only made her want to come back stronger, as, according to Aryna, tough losses never make her feel depressed, but motivate her to come back and try one more time.
“Every time I come back here, I have this positive thought, like, Come on, maybe this time. Every time I hope that one day I’ll be able to hold that beautiful trophy. You know, like the tough losses never make me feel depressed, like, don’t think about not coming back to the tournament. It just motivates me to come back and try one more time, to try harder and work harder on some things that maybe didn’t work in the past. I still hope to hold that beautiful trophy.
I’ve had really tough lessons here in the past. I think I’ve had so many opportunities here, but I didn’t take them for different reasons. I wasn’t ready. Then I got emotional. Then I couldn’t handle the crowd. I felt like I just missed an opportunity, and every time I come back here, I really enjoy being in New York, I enjoy these courts, I enjoy the crowd, I enjoy playing in this beautiful stadium in front of the crowd. I enjoy the city, the time on the court,” she added.