Aryna Sabalenka Relishes the Spotlight of ‘Large Stadiums’ After Progressing to the Roland Garros Third Round

Aryna Sabalenka used a good deal of drop shots and slice in her second round victory at Roland Garros.

Aryna Sabalenka Relishes the Spotlight of ‘Large Stadiums’ After Progressing to the Roland Garros Third Round

Aryna Sabalenka (image via Instagram/WTA)

Hard court specialist Aryna Sabalenka is looking to assert her dominance on clay as well. The World No. 1 reached two clay court finals this season. While she lost at the Stuttgart Open finals to Jelena Ostapenko, she won the Madrid Open finals against Coco Gauff.

Sabalenka’s only clay court titles have come in Madrid so far, constituting 3 of her 20 singles WTA titles. After her second-round victory, Sabalenka spoke to the press about the joys of playing in a large stadium and the support she feels from the crowd:

I can't remember the last time I played on a small court, and I don't want to know (laughter). I really enjoy playing in large stadiums, that's the truth, I feel I have a lot of support wherever I go nowadays, it's incredible. Whenever I step out, I always feel that warmth from the crowd, shouting and cheering for me, I see the signs they write for me, and that is the best feeling. I enjoy all of this a lot, so I just hope to play on the biggest courts in the world until the end of my career.

Her best run at Roland Garros was in 2023, where the Belarusian made it to the semifinals, losing to Karolina Muchova. Sabalenka has started off the tournament strong this season, cruising past Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 6-0 in the opening round and Jil Teichmann 6-3, 6-1 in the second round. 

Aryna Sabalenka has improved her variety of shots

Despite a break in the first set (3-1), Aryna Sabalenka showed little frustration and plenty of self-belief as she turned the tables and found her rhythm in her second-round match at Roland Garros. The World No.1 cracked 34 winners against 22 unforced errors during the match. She said after the match:

I had some luck with that shot (slice) today, the truth is we haven't been working on it much lately. I am very happy to see it working for me during matches, of course, I want to be a complete player, to have all the tools, and to bring variety to the court, be an unpredictable player. I am very pleased to see things falling into place.
Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

Sabalenka has improved her game with more variety of shots. She incorporated some drop shots and “had some luck” with the slice that day. The Belarusian hit fourteen drop shots against Teichmann, with seven of them landing for clean winners. Nonetheless, she described Teichmann as a “very clever opponent” who makes one work for every point. 

Aryna Sabalenka will face Olga Danilovic in the third round of Roland Garros

Aryna Sabalenka will next face 34th-ranked Olga Danilovic. They have only played each other once, back in 2018 in a qualifying match for the Madrid Open. Danilovic powered past Leylah Fernandez in straight sets in her opening round at the Roland Garros. She then had a hard-fought victory in three sets against Danielle Collins. Danilovic had her best run in the tournament last year, where she reached the fourth round.

Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka (via X)

Sabalenka acknowledged that Danilovic being left-handed makes a big difference, describing the Serbian’s game as very flat and fast, besides serving very well. Sabalenka expects a great battle and expressed her excitement to compete against her.

The Belarusian will be aiming for her third title of the season after victories at Miami and Madrid, and her fourth Grand Slam title. She is a two-time Australian open champion and the defending US Open champion.

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