Aryna Sabalenka Lauds New Coach Max Mirnyi with ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Remark After US Open 1st Round Win

First seed Aryna Sabalenka is scheduled to square off against Polina Kudermetova in the second round of the US Open.

Aryna Sabalenka Lauds New Coach Max Mirnyi with ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Remark After US Open 1st Round Win

Aryna Sabalenka, Max Mirnyi (Image via X/23, MisterOnly.Tennis)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

After a shaky start, Aryna Sabalenka knocked out Rebeka Masarova 7-5,6-1 in her first-round match of the 2025 US Open, held on Sunday (August 24). The Belarusian ace has improved her head-to-head record over the Swiss player to 2-0 following their clash in the second round of this year’s Berlin Open.

Watching her from her box was Max Mirnyi, a new addition to her coaching team. Mirnyi, nicknamed ‘the Beast,’ will be working alongside coach Anton Dubrov.

I feel like we improved a couple things together, and I’m looking forward to working with this wonderful guy.

Aryna Sabalenka said during her on-court interview

Mirnyi is a 10-time Grand Slam doubles champion (four of them he won in mixed doubles). His main goal is to fix Sabalenka’s net game.

Hopefully, we can finally improve my volley. Maybe one day you will see me coming to the net more often, but for now, it’s a work in progress. Now you can call our team Beauty and the Beast.

Aryna Sabalenka added

The three-time Grand Slam singles champion is bidding to win her first Major title of the season. This year, she made it to the finals of both the Australian Open and the French Open but lost the matches to American aces, Madison Keys and Coco Gauff, respectively.

If Sabalenka reaches the final and wins the title, she will become the first woman since 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams (2014) to defend the US Open singles title. Last year at Flushing Meadows, the 27-year-old beat home favorite Jessica Pegula in the final.

Sabalenka will next be locking horns with Polina Kudermetova, who received the walkover from Spain’s Nuria Parrizas-Diaz in the first round. The Belarusian is projected to face Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinals, Pegula in the semifinals.

Aryna Sabalenka on rivalries on the men’s and women’s sides

At the press conference after her first-round win at the US Open, Aryna Sabalenka was asked about rivalries on both the women’s and men’s side. The journalist, who asked this question, said people want the rivals to go at each other and then pointed out how arch-rivals Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner share a good bond off the court. He asked Sabalenka what she wants most in the rivalries on both sides.

Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

I would love to see more fun content, more fun stuff, maybe. I think it would be really fun like if these big players would do some sort of podcast together and talking about like tennis topics, and having fun, and maybe going out and being friendly. Just show the world that tennis is one side, but there’s like off-court stuff, and that we’re all friends and the atmosphere is really…the environment is really healthy.

Both Alcaraz and Sinner will kick-start their US Open campaign on Monday (August 25) against Reilly Opelka and Vit Kopriva, respectively. They will face each other only if they reach the final.

Sabalenka’s two biggest rivals at present are Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff. Last year, she made a TikTok video with the Pole, while this year, she made one with Gauff after the French Open controversy. Sabalenka played her first French Open final but squandered a 1-0 lead against the American youngster, and she was also finding it difficult to overcome the windy conditions. At the press conference later, she claimed that had Swiatek played the 21-year-old instead of her, she would have defeated her.

Both Gauff and Swiatek are aiming to become double Grand Slam champions this season. While Gauff won the French Open singles title for the first time in her career, Swiatek finally conquered grass by double-bageling Amanda Anisimova in the Wimbledon final. In the final, if she reaches that stage, Sabalenka could meet Gauff or Swiatek.

Also read: Emma Raducanu Embraces the Controversial US Open Mixed Doubles Format Amid Partnership With Carlos Alcaraz