Aryna Sabalenka Is ‘Growing Plaque on the Brain’ and Locker Room Thinks She’s Now Beatable Amid Trophy Drought

Aryna Sabalenka is struggling a lot. So much so that she is on the verge of losing the top ranking position. In the ongoing Canadian Open, the Belarusian ace suffered a three-set defeat at the hands of 16th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the fourth round.

Since completing the Sunshine Double after her win over Coco Gauff in the Miami Open, the only time Sabalenka advanced to the semifinals was at the Berlin Open (lost to eventual runner-up Jessica Pegula). At the French Open and Wimbledon, her run ended in the quarterfinals and the fourth round, respectively.

Amid her trophy drought, Serena Williams‘ coach Rennae Stubbs said Sabalenka is “growing plaque on the brain,” and her slump in form is concerning.

Sabalenka is not winning the matches that she was winning last year, and she is not winning the matches that she won in Miami and Indian Wells, which she won on hard courts. She is growing plaque on the brain, she is not chipping away at it. It is starting to get worse for her because now she is losing matches that she was not losing last year. It has to be a concern, and also players in the locker room go, ‘she is beatable now’.

Rennae Stubbs said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis podcast

Last year was a far cry from this year as she made nine finals, winning four titles, including the US Open. Although she failed to reach the final on grass, she reached the title clashes of three clay-court tournaments, including at the French Open, which she lost to Gauff.

There are a lot of question marks, and Cincinnati has always been the precursor for who is playing the best on hard courts going into the US Open, as the conditions and courts are so similar to the US Open. So this is a major concern for her coaching camp and for her, and for her confidence going into these last two really big tournaments of the year other than the WTA Finals.

Rennae Stubbs added

In Cincinnati last year, Sabalenka lost to Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals. But in the New York Slam, she beat home favorite Amanda Anisimova and defended her title.

Elena Rybakina on dethroning Aryna Sabalenka from the No.1 ranking

Elena Rybakina will have 8666 points if she beats Iga Swiatek in the Canadian Open final. At present, she has 8316 points on the live rankings, just 354 points behind Aryna Sabalenka. But Rybakina has made it clear that she is not thinking about the rankings at all when Tennis Channel’s Mark Petchey asked her about the No.1 position.

Only when you ask, I have to think about it. No, I’m just staying in present, trying to focus on one match at a time and not looking at the ranking, not following. So for me, it’s just important go match by match and hopefully win titles.

Rybakina came from a set down to beat Coco Gauff in the semifinals to schedule a blockbuster final against Swiatek. While Rybakina has already played three finals this year, Swiatek has reached the title clash of a tournament for the first time. Before this event, she had made a semifinal just once, at the Italian Open.

Rybakina and Swiatek are tied at 6-6 in the head-to-head matchups, but it’s the Kazakh ace who won their last two matches, which also includes this year’s Australian Open quarterfinals. Rybakina beat Sabalenka in the Melbourne Slam to win her second Grand Slam title.

Sabalenka got her revenge by beating her in Indian Wells. Rybakina then took home the Stuttgart Open by beating Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova.

Also read: Elena Rybakina Proud of Fighting Spirit After Surviving Naomi Osaka Scare in Toronto