Aryna Sabalenka Advised to Follow Novak Djokovic’s Approach Amid Disappointing Run of Form

Aryna Sabalenka‘s campaign at the Wuhan Open ended on October 14. In the opening round, the Belarusian ace suffered a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) defeat to Ann Li. The win over Sabalenka marked Li’s career’s third top-10 win.

It was also the American’s first win over Sabalenka after three consecutive defeats. Sabalenka has now lost two back-to-back matches in the early rounds, after Nikola Bartunkova defeated her in the third round of the China Open before the Wuhan Open.

Amid her disappointing run of form, former British No.1 Greg Rusedski advised her to follow Novak Djokovic‘s approach by taking a long break following the WTA Finals and returning to action only at the Australian Open.

Well, sometimes you need to reset and a little bit of time away from the game. She’s obviously trying to push for the end-of-season champs. Sometimes when you’re feeling that way it’s better to pull out of an event, but you get these guarantees in prize money, and it’s getting the balance.

Greg Rusedski said on his Off Court with Greg podcast

Before the Australian Open this year, Sabalenka competed at the Brisbane International, where she defeated Marta Kostyuk and defended her title. Then she reached the final of the Melbourne Slam, only to lose to Elena Rybakina in three sets.

Then get away, get a break, don’t even start until possibly the Australian Open, like Novak Djokovic does, or a lot of the other big names. Take an extended period away from the game so when they’re ready to go, preparation is perfect, and they’re ready to hit the road for the rest of the season. So sometimes put a little more breaks if you can, and getting away from the game is not a negative thing, but a very positive thing to do.

Greg Rusedski added

The four-time Grand Slam champion has not yet clinched a title since completing the Sunshine Double in March by beating Rybakina in Indian Wells and Coco Gauff in Miami. She reached the final only once since Miami, at the US Open. The Kazakh ace dashed her hope of completing a historic three-peat, and a day later, she officially dethroned her from the No.1 ranking.

Aryna Sabalenka has qualified for the WTA Finals for the sixth time in a row

Aryna Sabalenka will next be competing at the WTA Finals, which kicks off on November 8. Sabalenka has never won the WTA Finals title, but has reached the championship match twice, in 2022 and 2025, losing to Caroline Garcia and Rybakina, respectively.

She has now qualified for the year-end championships for the sixth time in a row after making her debut in 2021. Sabalenka has also qualified for the semifinals since 2022.

Yeah, that’s actually crazy. I remember before I qualified for the 1st time, I was like trying my very best to qualify for Singapore back then, but I couldn’t make it happen. And it was very tough for me to even imagine that one day you’re gonna be like saying, like, oh, how does it feel to qualify for the 6th time in a row? I mean, it’s a dream, and it means a lot, and I’m super excited, and I’m ready for this last push of the season.

Aryna Sabalenka said prior to starting her campaign in Wuhan (H/T: Tennishead)

Rybakina, the defending WTA Finals champion, last played in the opening round of the China Open. The World No.1 later withdrew from the Wuhan Open. In Indian Wells, she will be chasing her fourth title of the season after wins in Melbourne, New York, and Stuttgart.

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