Kim Clijsters Pinpoints Problem Behind Aryna Sabalenka’s Disappointing Campaigns

Aryna Sabalenka was on top of the world when she completed the Sunshine Double by defeating Elena Rybakina in Indian Wells and Coco Gauff in Miami. But since then, she has not yet clinched a title.

The World No.1 failed to defend her title in Madrid, with a three-set defeat to Hailey Baptiste in the quarterfinals. Following her third-round upset at the Italian Open, the Belarusian ace, who lost to Gauff in the final of last year’s French Open, faced defeat at the hands of Diana Shnaider in this year’s Paris Major.

Shocked after her disappointing run, Sabalenka, at the press conference, said she had “no thoughts” and “no emotions” and that she wanted to “quit tennis”. Following her semifinal defeat to eventual runner-up Jessica Pegula in Berlin, Sabalenka crashed out of Wimbledon with a straight-set defeat to her fellow four-time Grand Slam singles champion Naomi Osaka.

And now, former World No.1 Kim Clijsters, during her Love All podcast, has pinpointed the problem behind Sabalenka’s disappointing results.

I think in her head, she has to be a little bit cautious and play with caution, I don’t think that’s her personality and her game style. Just hitting the ball hard, the serve… I noticed in the first couple of rounds she tried to use some slices, come in a little bit more, but it just wasn’t consistently good enough.

Before completing the rare Sunshine Double, Sabalenka played two finals. She defended her title in Brisbane (beat Marta Kostyuk) but lost to Rybakina in the Australian Open final.

Whereas on hard, the intensity that she has and the power that her ground shots create on the other side of the net is non-stop, shot after shot, and she’s just not able to create that on the clay and on the grass.

Kim Clijsters added

Sabalenka will next be seen in action at the Canadian Open, with the main draw set to start on August 3. She skipped the tournament last year but played the Cincinnati event, where Elena Rybakina ended her run in the quarterfinals. But later at the US Open, Sabalenka defended her title by defeating home favorite Amanda Anisimova.

Jimmy Connors says it’s surprising that Aryna Sabalenka hasn’t yet reached the Wimbledon final

Aryna Sabalenka is a three-time Wimbledon semifinalist, reaching the stage in 2021, 2023, and 2025. Jimmy Connors finds it surprising that the 28-year-old has not yet progressed to the final.

Sabalenka is going to have to start proving herself. I don’t know what to say now about her. We have talked about her so long, and she has got us on this rollercoaster ride, the ups and the downs. We know she has got the game. She has proven that the way she plays. I would like to have an answer.

Jimmy Connors said on the Advantage Connors podcast

Forget reaching the Wimbledon final, Sabalenka has not yet won a title on grass. But she has played two finals on the surface (the 2018 Eastbourne International and the 2022 Rosmalen Grass Court Championships).

She’s by far the most consistent player in the last three or four years. It’s weird. Her least favorite is Wimbledon out of the Majors, but that always seems surprising, like with [Alexander] Zverev, where they both have this big game, big serve, big weapons that should do well on grass.

Jimmy Connors added

Zverev, after ending his Grand Slam title drought at the French Open by beating Flavio Cobolli, couldn’t complete the rare Channel Slam. He reached the Wimbledon final for the first time, only to lose in four sets to defending champion Jannik Sinner.

Also read: Joao Fonseca Reveals his Learnings from Defeats to Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev