Aryna Sabalenka is acing the distance between “a fighter and a warrior” as she matures into a formidable force to be reckoned with, as coach Jason Stacy reveals

Sabalenka is currently playing at the 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix where she has made her way into the quarter-finals for the fourth consecutive year.

Aryna Sabalenka is acing the distance between “a fighter and a warrior” as she matures into a formidable force to be reckoned with, as coach Jason Stacy reveals

Aryna Sabalenka with her coach Jason Stacey (Image via IMAGO)

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka has become one of the big names on the WTA Tour in recent times. The Belarusian first tasted success in doubles winning the US Open (2019) and the Australian Open (2021). In the meanwhile, she continued working on her singles game and growing on the Tour.

As a result, she is now a two-time Australian Open singles winner. She won her maiden Major in 2023 and retained it successfully in Melbourne this year. She’s also finished runner-up in singles at the 2023 US Open while being a semi-finalist at both the French Open and Wimbledon.

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The 25-year-old has often talked about undergoing a big change in terms of her mentality and discipline on the court. Once known for conceding matches solely because of her double faults, she has improved on that aspect massively.

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The former World No. 1 has often joked about her ‘tiger’ tattoo giving her motivation in between matches. But for her coach Jason Stacy, it’s more to do with her mentality and attitude to not give up even if she is almost defeated. 

She's such a fighter because she wins matches she's down like, basically the match is done. But all of a sudden, she wins. You put her in a corner, she just fights. But she was just a young fighter with a lot of emotion. What she's becoming now is slowly but surely what I would call the difference between a fighter and a warrior.
Said Jason Stacy, in his latest video on Instagram.

Sabalenka’s decision to not withdraw despite the demise of her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Kolstov at the 2024 Miami Open was one of the many instances of her mental prowess. She made it to the third round despite going through a personal loss having allegedly broken up just a short while ago with Kolstov.

Aryna Sabalenka makes a winning return in Stuttgart

Following the tragedy in Miami, Sabalenka has made a winning start to the clay season. With Belarus banned from playing in the BJK Cup, she had a fortnight to gather herself before returning to the Tour.

Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka (Image via IMAGO)

She made her clay debut for the season at the 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. She has reached the finals in all three previous appearances at the event. But to her misfortune, she had to settle for the runners-up trophy every time.

This week, she moved into the quarter-finals following her best friend Paula Badosa‘s retirement in the third set. The Spaniard found herself unable to continue after her leg injury flared up and she broke down while hugging the Belarusian.

The World No. 2 will now take on reigning Wimbledon champ Marketa Vondrousova. Vondrousova has yet to drop a set in her two matches in Stuttgart so far. She however trails 2-4 in head-to-head against Sabalenka. This will be the first clay court encounter between the two Major title winners.

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