Aryna Sabalenka won her first and still only Slam title at the 2023 edition of the Australian Open. The Belarusian tennis player chose Brisbane as a preparation tournament to better arrive in Melbourne. The 25-year-old is the No. 1 seed at the Brisbane International and therefore she has a first-round bye. In the second round her opponent could be the ItalianĀ Bronzetti who challenges the American Krueger in the first round. Aryna did not end the season as she would have liked and at the WTA Finals she lost the first position in the WTA world ranking to Iga Swiatek. However, the Belarusian can consider herself rather satisfied with the path undertaken in 2023 and look to the future with optimism.
SabalenkaĀ© Sarah Stier / Staff Getty Images Sport
Her main goal remains to acquire greater solidity in important moments of matches. Sabalenka didn’t have any problems in the last edition of the Australian Open, when she won her first Slam, but she wasted numerous opportunities in the two semi-finals played at the Roland Garros and Wimbledon against Karolina Muchova and Ons Jabeur respectively. On the media day of the Brisbane International, the Belarusian spoke about her fitness and her serve. “I’m happy to be in Brisbane and I also feel ready for these weather conditions. In this country I have wonderful memories linked to last year, we did a great job in the pre-season in the hope of being able to replicate the same result as last year. ”Ā Sabalenka also said she worked a lot on her fitness, then on her serve. She underlined how she need to be prepared for long matches even in conditions that can become extreme.
Aryna Sabalenka: “Last year’s success gave me more confidence in the Slams”
Sabalenka highlights that having managed to win a Slam gives important help from an emotional point of view.Ā “I have more confidence in Slams. I think I made a big change in my mentality last year. I kind of accept the fact that I can lose, that anyone can go there and beat me if I don’t bring my best tennis. Accepting this fact gives you more confidence. You are calmer on the court in crucial moments. Here in Brisbane, Sabalenka concludes, there is a high-level tournament and you can do good preparation. There are many difficult opponents. I think it’s a really good choice before the Grand Slam,” she explained.