Aryna Sabalenka’s Coach Opens Up on Key Mental Shift to Avoid Another French Open Final Outburst

Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from the WTA 500 tournament in Stuttgart next week.

Aryna Sabalenka’s Coach Opens Up on Key Mental Shift to Avoid Another French Open Final Outburst

Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/HQ Pics)

In Short
  • Aryna Sabalenka's coach emphasizes the importance of mental resilience to avoid past mistakes in future finals.
  • Sabalenka has a significant lead in the WTA rankings and has won three titles this season.
  • She has withdrawn from the Stuttgart Open due to an injury sustained after her Miami Open victory.

Aryna Sabalenka is one of the few players who always wear their hearts on their sleeves while playing on the court. That leads her to show emotions during difficult matches and on most occasions in the final. She has that experience from last year’s French Open, and her coach, Jason Stacy, is making sure it doesn’t repeat itself again.

Sabalenka is currently the best player in the women’s game and holds more than 3,000 points lead over World No.2 Elena Rybakina in the WTA rankings. The 27-year-old has already won three titles this season, two of which came during the Sunshine Double last month, where she became the first woman to win the Indian Wells and Miami Open since Ashleigh Barty in 2021.

However, last year, Sabalenka had it tough in Grand Slam tournaments despite reaching three finals. She reached the final of the Australian Open and lost to Madison Keys in three sets. At the French Open final, she faced Coco Gauff and was the favorite to win the title, having beaten the 2025 champion, Iga Swiatek, in the semi-finals.

But in the final, she lost her game tactics after the first set, which led Gauff to win the championship. During her post-match press conference, Sabalenka admitted that the court conditions were against her and that it was her worst performance in a long while. She added that if Swiatek had played the final match, she would never have lost to Gauff.

Those comments drew a lot of criticism from fellow and former players, who stressed that she aimed to downplay Gauff’s success at the tournament. Sabalenka later apologized for her comments, while explaining she didn’t mean to cause any stir after the loss. In the latest episode of the Served podcast, Stacy explained that the hectic schedule played a part in Sabalenka’s meltdown in Paris:

And so it’s a lot of matches, you know, coming into the clay-court season last year, she had, you know, Brisbane, the Australian Open, you know, we had Indian Wells final, Miami winning, you know, and then just a short time, boom, she’s in Stuttgart, and then she went to, like, finals, finals, finals, quarters, you know, and then to the final of the French Open, so by the time she got to the French Open, I mean, she was so exhausted, because she had played so many matches.

Sabalenka won the US Open last September, which was her only major silverware in 2025. This season, she failed to win the Australian Open despite reaching the final for the fourth consecutive time. The Belarusian star lost to Rybakina in three sets in the final at the Rod Laver Arena.

Aryna Sabalenka withdraws from the 2026 Stuttgart Open

The women’s tour has shifted its focus to national duties, with players representing their countries at the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers. However, the first clay WTA 500 tournament will kick off in Stuttgart next week. Top players, including Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, and Elena Rybakina, are set to compete at the tournament.

Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/Tiempo De Tenis)

Aryna Sabalenka was expected to compete at the tournament but revealed in an Instagram story that she has withdrawn from the event. The World No.1, who would have been the top seed at the Stuttgart Open, explained that she suffered an injury en route to her Miami Open triumph last month:

The atmosphere, the fans, and the support I feel there are so special to me. And of course, I was really hoping to have another chance to fight for that Porsche. Unfortunately, I suffered an injury after Miami, and even though I tried everything to recover in time, I’m not ready to compete. I’m really sorry to miss this amazing tournament. Wishing everyone a great week in Stuttgart, and I hope to see you all again very soon.

Sabalenka reached the final of the Stuttgart Open and was seeking to win the title for the first time in her career. But she failed to do so as she fell to Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets. Rybakina will now be the top seed at the tournament, with Swiatek among the favorites after training with Rafael Nadal‘s ex-coach Francisco Roig in Spain.

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