Aryna Sabalenka Admits She’s ‘Trying So Hard to Be Easier’ on Herself Amid Topsy-Turvy Season

Aryna Sabalenka registered an easy win in the opening round of the China Open against Renata Zarazua. She did not face a break point and smashed 11 aces before securing a berth in the third round with a 6-1, 6-3 scoreline.

It was her first match since her three-set defeat to Elena Rybakina in the US Open final. She is bidding to win her first title since she completed the Sunshine Double in March by beating Rybakina in Indian Wells and Coco Gauff at the Miami Open.

Outside the US Open, she also reached the Australian Open final, where she lost to Rybakina in three sets. Because of her topsy-turvy campaigns this year, Sabalenka has been very self-critical. At the press conference after her opening-round win in Beijing, Sabalenka said she has been trying very hard to be easy on herself.

I think this is a good and a bad side of my personality, that I always ask and wait for more from myself. Sometimes it can drive me forward, but sometimes it can really drain my energy. Maybe this is something I have to finally learn. I’m really trying so hard sometimes to be easier on myself.

Aryna Sabalenka said (H/T: BBC)

Apart from the two Sunshine Double titles and the finals she played at the Australian Open and the US Open, the World No.2 also reached the title clash of the Brisbane International and won it by beating Marta Kostyuk.

Sabalenka, an 11-time WTA 1000 champion, is a three-time quarterfinalist in Beijing, reaching the stage in 2018, 2023, and 2024. After her win in Miami, Sabalenka reached the quarterfinal only once at a WTA 1000 event: the Madrid Open, where she defeated Gauff in the final last year.

Aryna Sabalenka didn’t think she would play the final of the US Open

For the first time since the 2022 season, Aryna Sabalenka will be ending a season without a Grand Slam title to her name. At the French Open, where she lost to Coco Gauff in the final last year, the Belarusian ace lost to Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals, while at Wimbledon, she suffered a straight-set defeat at the hands of fellow four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.

In the pre-tournament press conference in Beijing, Sabalenka admitted she didn’t think she would reach the US Open final after her Wimbledon disappointment.

I have to say that, of course, the end of the US Open wasn’t the way I expected it to be, but I’m still super proud of the work that has been done and the way the season was going since clay court.

Because she struggled in the middle of the season, she eventually lost her No.1 ranking to Elena Rybakina. She held the spot since dethroning Iga Swiatek toward the end of the 2024 season.

If someone would tell me after Wimbledon that you’ll be able to get to the final, the US Open, I wouldn’t believe because I really struggled physically and mentally to get back in my tough mindset and I’m super proud that I was able to build myself back mentally and physically.

Aryna Sabalenka added

First seed Rybakina will kick off her campaign on Saturday against Alina Charaeva. She will be chasing her fourth title of the season after wins in Melbourne, New York, and Stuttgart. The Kazakh ace, a two-time WTA 1000 champion, is a one-time semifinalist at the China Open, reaching the final on her debut in 2023. She hasn’t yet clinched a title at this level since winning the 2023 Italian Open, but has played four finals since then.

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