Sabalenka is “living the best life” following her triumph at the US Open.
She lost to Leylah Fernandez in a shocking loss at the same level of the tournament in 2022, after giving up a 4-2 lead against Iga Swiatek in the last set.
Yet, the 26-year-old declared herself to be “the happiest person in the world” following her 7-5 7-5 victory over American Jessica Pegula in the championship round at Flushing Meadows.”I can’t express myself. I recall all of these difficult defeats,” Sabalenka remarked.” They claim you will discover the cause at a later time. I can see the cause now.
“This is why it’s so unique; every time I went through it, I got stronger and learned new things. I persisted in pursuing this dream.” “Living her best life” is Sabalenka.
In the lead-up to the US Open, Sabalenka expressed her desire to discover “things that bring joy” following a challenging year. Sabalenka referred to her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov’s death in March as “an unthinkable tragedy.”.
She then admitted that, looking back, she ought to have stopped playing. After losing the quarterfinals of the French Open in June due to an upset stomach, she withdrew from Wimbledon a few weeks later due to a shoulder injury.
Her forced vacation allowed her to rejuvenate, and she has shown off a lighthearted and carefree attitude with her squad when they are not on the court in New York. She established a custom of signing her name on her fitness coach Jason Stacy’s head after she triumphantly defended her Australian Open championship in January.
For the final match versus Pegula, Stacy chose to have Sabalenka’s famous tiger tattoo applied to the top of his head instead of her signature. When Stacy was celebrating, the second seed was seen making fun of her head. She also quipped during her news conference after the game that he ought to have placed the image in the center of his forehead.”She is living her best life,” Laura Robson, a former British champion, said to Sky Sports.
“You only need to observe the surroundings she is in. They are all giggling and making jokes while her physiotherapist is tattooing a lion on his skull.”Everything will go according to plan off the court, which transfers into her play on the court.”There is, however, a deeper reason for Sabalenka to continue aiming for Grand Slam glory beneath her upbeat demeanor.
She has discussed the effects of losing her father, Sergey, who passed away in 2019, and she states that one of her goals is to “insert our family name into tennis history.””Every time I see my name on that trophy, I’m so proud of myself, I’m proud of my family that they never gave up on my dream,” she said. “They were doing everything they could to keep me going.”
The world’s greatest hard court player
Sabalenka has won three Grand Slam titles on hard courts and has only dropped one set in her last 28 major matches played on these surfaces. During the summer hard-court swing, Sabalenka has swiftly reestablished herself as the best in the business, taking home the trophy in Cincinnati last month and then triumphing in Flushing Meadows.
She is regarded as the “best hard-court player in the world” by Martina Navratilova, the 18-time major singles champion and former world number one. Now that Sabalenka has won the French Open three times in a row in June, she can challenge Iga Swiatek, the “Queen of Clay,” for the top spot at the end of the year.
Former British number one Annabel Croft stated on BBC 5 Live, “It’s so much more interesting now with the way that Sabalenka is playing because before it felt like Swiatek was just a level above everyone around her.”
“Sabalenka seems to possess that inner self-assurance and faith. She has improved and is now a very compelling player. “She really is going to challenge Swiatek for that world number one [ranking],” someone said.