Aryna Sabalenka aspires to become an inspiration for people going through ‘tough moments’ at the Australian Open
World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the third time in a row after beating Mirra Andreeva.
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Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X)
Aryna Sabalenka took another step closer to her third Australian Open title. On Sunday (January 19), the Belarusian breezed past 14th seed Mirra Andreeva 6-1, 6-2 in the fourth round inside Rod Laver Arena to reach other Major quarterfinals.
Following securing a spot in the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park for the third consecutive time, which was also her 18th straight win in the tournament, Sabalenka talked about why she wants to inspire others.
I think my whole life I wanted to be an inspiration for the next generation. I wanted to be a good example of a hard worker, or a fighter. And I wanted to inspire…I don’t know, maybe not only the next generation but help people to go through tough moments. I hope that they look at me; they see my example. They know that how tough I had to battle some of the challenges that I went through.
Aryna Sabalenka said during her on-court interview
Aryna Sabalenka spoke about inspiring others after beating Mirra Andreeva at Australian Open
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 19, 2025
“I want to help people go through tough moments. 🥹 I hope they look at me, see my example, and they know how tough I had to battle some of the challenges.”
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Following the win, the World No.1 will be facing 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals. Pavlyuchenkova knocked out Donna Vekic in the last 16 to schedule a fourth clash on the WTA Tour with the first seed. In their three meetings, Pavlyuchenkova emerged as champion twice and also won their last encounter in the 2021 French Open.
Aryna Sabalenka improves her head-to-head record against Mirra Andreeva
Aryna Sabalenka has clinched a second consecutive win over Mirra Andreeva after beating her in the semifinal of the 2025 Brisbane International, which Sabalenka lifted by defeating Polina Kudermetova in the final.
The 26-year-old, who hit 15 winners and made 11 unforced errors during the match against Andreeva, has faced the 17-year-old five times. After the win in Melbourne, she has improved the head-to-head record over the teenager to 4-1. The only time Andreeva came out on top of Sabalenka was in the quarterfinals of the 2024 French Open.
It’s always tough matches against Mirra; she’s so young but so mature and playing such great tennis. I’m super happy to get through this difficult match in straight sets.
Aryna Sabalenka said during the on-court interview
Sabalenka, who beat Qinwen Zheng in 2024 and Elena Rybakina in 2023 in the Australian Open finals, is 9-0 in the season. The win over Andreeva also made Sabalenka the youngest to win 18 consecutive Major matches on hard courts since 2004 after 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams.
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