Aryna Sabalenka Looks Back on the Hard Lesson she Learned from the Roland Garros Final Defeat

Aryna Sabalenka, who has lost two Grand Slam finals this season, is looking forward to reach her first Wimbledon final.

Aryna Sabalenka Looks Back on the Hard Lesson she Learned from the Roland Garros Final Defeat

Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/Coco Gauff, We Are Tennis France)

Aryna Sabalenka started the year with a heartbreak at the Australian Open. Entering the tournament as the two-time defending champion, the Belarusian was stunned in the finals by Madison Keys. Sabalenka faced yet another heartbreak at the Roland Garros final, where she lost to Coco Gauff after an error-marred performance.

However, she let her emotions get the best of her after the defeat as she made some discourteous comments towards Gauff. Understandably, Sabalenka faced heavy backlash for those comments, for which the World No. 1 later apologized.

She also patched up with Gauff ahead of Wimbledon, making a fun TikTok video together. Sabalenka, who has now reached the fourth round of the Wimbledon final, reflected on her Roland Garros defeat during the post-match press conference.

On one hand, I am happy about what happened to me at Roland Garros, there I had the opportunity to sit down and look at everything from a different perspective, realize many things about myself…

Aryna Sabalenka said

The three-time Grand Slam singles champion who is currently in the quest for her first Grand Slam title outside her beloved hard court hopes to be more mindful of her behavior, and handle pressure with poise.

I feel like I am a different person, I learned the lesson. Thanks to that recent experience, I kept repeating to myself that I couldn’t let it happen again. Whatever happens on the court, you just have to be respectful, stay calm, keep trying, and fighting. It really reminded me strongly that I was capable of handling all that pressure.

Aryna Sabalenka added

Sabalenka has never reached a grass-court final before. The two-time Wimbledon semifinalist had to miss the event lass year due to an injury, however, she is back strong and is the only top-five seeded player remaining in the tournament. This marked the second time in the Open Era after Wimbledon 2018, that just one of the top-five seeded player had made it to the Women’s singles third round in a Grand Slam event.

Aryna Sabalenka will meet Elise Mertens in her next round at Wimbledon

Aryna Sabalenka, who is yet to drop a set at the tournament, commenced her Wimbledon campaign with a smooth victory over Carson Branstine in the opening round. Her next two matches were progressively more tensed with the first set going into tiebreak in both the cases. After defeating Marie Bouzkova in the second round, the 27-year-old faced home favorite Emma Raducanu in the third round.

Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/WTA)

Raducanu, who had defeated the 2023 Wimbledon champion in her previous round, showed a really high level in the match, making the Belarusian fight for each point. Although, Sabalenka was trailing 1-4 in the second set, with great fighting spirit she won the next five games in a row to clinch the match, once again demonstrating why she is the World No. 1.

Sabalenka’s fourth round opponent will be a special one- Belgium’s Elise Mertens. Sabalenka and Mertens had clinched the US Open women’s doubles trophy in 2019 and the Australian Open women’s doubles in 2021. The duo also accomplished the Sunshine Doubles in 2019 in the women’s doubles category.

In the WTA singles tour, Sabalenka has a 10-2 head-to-head record over Mertens. They have met once on grass before at the Eastbourne Open in 2018, where Sabalenka won the match. They have met twice this season on the clay swing with Sabalenka winning both times.

Also Read: Aryna Sabalenka Shows Novak Djokovic-esque Mindset Playing Against the Wimbledon Crowd During her Match Against Emma Raducanu