‘Depressed’ Aryna Sabalenka opens up about fears of becoming ‘alcoholic’ after Miami Open triumph

World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka emerged victorious in the Miami Open final against Jessica Pegula in straight sets.

‘Depressed’ Aryna Sabalenka opens up about fears of becoming ‘alcoholic’ after Miami Open triumph

Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/News Aryna Sabalenka)

Aryna Sabalenka is hoping never to become an alcoholic person. Sabalenka, following her first triumph in a Sunshine Double singles tournament, revealed her plans for how she wanted to celebrate her victory.

The Belarusian, after losing the Indian Wells final to Mirra Andreeva, got back to her winning ways, as she reached the Miami Open final and beat home favorite Jessica Pegula to take home the WTA 1000 trophy. Although she had impressive campaigns in the Sunshine Double events, it wasn’t the case in the Middle East Swing.

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Sabalenka had arrived in Doha for the WTA 1000 Qatar Open and fell in three sets to Ekaterina Alexandrova in her first match. At the Dubai Open then, the World No.1 lost her second match to Clara Tauson.

The reason behind her mediocre performance was her Australian Open heartbreak. She was bidding to complete a three-peat in the tournament but couldn’t overcome Madison Keys in the final. Now that she finally lifted a trophy since this year’s Brisbane International, Sabalenka was in a celebratory mood. She joked about forcing her team to have drinks to celebrate.

I don’t know, maybe some burgers, pizza, just to have fun. I think we should celebrate, because we struggled after those tough finals. We all were kind of, like, depressed. I think after this final, we have to celebrate a little bit, just to remember the moment.

Aryna Sabalenka said at the press conference

Sabalenka had sipped her ‘Marg-Aryna’, the margarita in partnership with Dobel Tequila when she was giving an interview to Prakash Amritraj and Martina Navratilova at the Tennis Channel desk. While Sabalenka was talking, Pegula also snuck in and walked off with the glass.

It’s going to be tequila. I’m getting older. Before, I would celebrate with some sugar stuff. Nowadays it’s alcohol. I hope I’m not going to become alcoholic, but yeah.

Aryna Sabalenka added

Aryna Sabalenka makes her feelings on strengthening her No.1 position

Aryna Sabalenka has claimed 10,541 points in the rankings table – 3000 points more than second-placed Iga Swiatek. She also has zero points to defend at Wimbledon as she withdrew from the grass-court Major event last year. But Sabalenka puts a different focus on improving herself rather than rankings-based.

Aryna Sabalenka Miami Open
Aryna Sabalenka (image via Instagram @arynasabalenka)

Honestly, I’m not really thinking about it, to be honest. But that’s a good point difference. I’m going to still keep my focus on myself and improving myself and making sure I bring my best game every time. I’ll keep hoping [laughing] to be running away with the points.

Aryna Sabalenka told wtatennis.com

She has won more matches than any woman on the tour (23) and has played more finals (four). She also has a 12-2 record against the top 10 players and has so far hit 716 winners, the most by a WTA player this year.

Sabalenka has also become the third woman in the Open Era to reach the finals of the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and the Miami Open. Since making her singles debut, Sabalenka has lifted the most hard-court titles on the women’s tour, five more than Swiatek.

Aryna Sabalenka will start preparing for the clay swing next

Aryna Sabalenka will eye a title at a clay-court event for the first time since winning the 2023 Madrid Open. Sabalenka is a winner of 19 WTA titles, 17 of which have come on hard courts. Her two other titles are the ones she lifted at the Madrid Open in 2021 and 2023.

Aryna Sabalenka 2025 Miami Open
Aryna Sabalenka (image via Miami Open)

Last year on the clay swing, the 26-year-old reached two finals, at the Italian Open and the Madrid Open, losing both to Iga Swiatek. At the French Open then, Sabalenka was defeated by Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals.