Aryna Sabalenka Reveals How She Plans to Mentally Regroup after WTA Finals Loss to Elena Rybakina
Aryna Sabalenka finishes the 2025 season with 63 match wins, the highest in the WTA circuit.
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Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina (Image via X/sabalenka feeds, Jose Moron)
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Aryna Sabalenka suffered a disappointing loss against Elena Rybakina in the championship match of the WTA Finals on Saturday (November 8). The World No.1 was seeking to win the title for the first time in her career after losing out in 2022 to Caroline Garcia, but she failed to get past Rybakina in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Sabalenka has dominated the WTA this season but has also suffered some disastrous losses on the court. Her first major loss was at the Australian Open against Madison Keys and then at Roland Garros to Coco Gauff. She had revealed after the two losses that her emotions prevented her from finding her best tennis in the clutch moments.
However, she was the favorite to win the WTA Finals, as she produced a high-class performance in the round robin stage. She went undefeated in the group stage beating Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, and Jasmine Paolini. The World No.1 went on to beat Amanda Anisimova in three sets in the semi-finals.
Before the final clash against Rybakina, she led the Kazakhstan star 8-5 in their head-to-head record on tour. Rybakina broke Sabalenka once in the first set in the WTA Finals and then showed brilliance in the tiebreak, winning seven consecutive points. Sabalenka fell to the World No.5 4-6, (0)6-7 in the final in Riyadh.
Sabalenka was in tears after the heartbreaking loss against Rybakina. She revealed during her press conference that she will take a vacation to the Maldives and take tequila to help her regroup mentally. The 27-year-old added that she hopes to improve in certain aspects of her game next season:
And how to recover after such a tough loss? I mean, the good thing is that I’m always there. The bad thing this season, I lost most of the biggest finals I made. So, I guess I’ll just sit back in Maldives having my probably tequila, and think back and try to analyze my maybe behavior, my emotions and think that actually it’s been pretty good so far. I just need to get a little bit better with myself a little bit more, and hopefully next season I’ll improve.
Sabalenka has not won a tour-level title since claiming the US Open in September. She didn’t compete at the China Open after withdrawing due to injury and then failed to defend her Wuhan Open title after losing to Pegula in the semi-finals. Nonetheless, she ended the season with the highest match wins (63) in the WTA circuit.
Aryna Sabalenka hopes to learn from her loss against Elena Rybakina at the WTA Finals in Riyadh
Aryna Sabalenka had only lost once to Elena Rybakina this season ahead of their WTA Finals, so she was the favorite to win the clash. Also, Rybakina has struggled with fatigue and a shoulder injury en route to the final. But, she unfortunately lost to the Kazakhstan star in straight sets in Riyadh, taking their head-to-head record to 8-6.
Sabalenka let her emotions get the better of her in moments of the matches especially during the second set tiebreak. During the above press conference, she narrated that despite doing her best on the court, she failed to control the match to her advantage:
After a little time, I feel actually great. I lost this match. She played incredible. I feel like I did my best today. It didn’t work. But I leave this tournament being proud of myself and the things that we’ve been able to achieve. I guess by doing this mistake over and over again, next time I show up in the big matches I’m in a better control.
Sabalenka is likely to kick off her season at the Brisbane International in late December, as she has done for the best two seasons. However, before that, she will play Nick Kyrgios in the Battle of the Sexes clash in Dubai. It will be the fourth popular exhibition clash between a female and a male player.
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