Aryna Sabalenka’s Ex-Coach Recalls Being ‘Very Upset’ with Her Behavior and ‘Careless Attitude’: “You’re Doing Bullsh*t!”

Aryna Sabalenka will next participate in the Cincinnati Masters, where she will aim to defend her title.

Aryna Sabalenka’s Ex-Coach Recalls Being ‘Very Upset’ with Her Behavior and ‘Careless Attitude’: “You’re Doing Bullsh*t!”

Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

This year, no player has done better than Aryna Sabalenka, because she has reached seven finals and won three titles. Grand Slam titles, however, have eluded her. Last year, the World No.1 had played seven finals and won two titles, including the Australian Open and the US Open.

Sabalenka wasn’t used to being this consistent when she was a newcomer. Without revealing the name, she often criticized her previous coaches for being too brutal on her when she was very young, blaming them for her inconsistent performances.

Recently, during an interview with Sport Express, one of her former coaches, Dmitry Tursunov, recalled the time he had a fight with Sabalenka, who wanted to fire him and had complained about the same to her sponsors. He said in the interview that during the period, he had “sacrificed everything for the sake of the result,” blaming Sabalenka for behaving “incorrectly” due to her young age, and this used to offend him.

When asked what exactly had happened, Tursunov talked about the time when Sabalenka secured a berth in her first final on grass- at the 2018 Eastbourne International, which she ended up losing to Caroline Wozniacki.

The day before, Aryna played in doubles with Xie Shuwei and was clearly messing around. Hee-hee, ha-ha…I exploded. I said directly: ‘You’re doing bullsh*t! Laughing, having fun on the court. This is disrespectful to your partner, your opponents, and yourself. Why waste time? You don’t strive to win, and you’re not preparing for tomorrow’s singles final. You have a chance to take the trophy and you’re going to blow it all?’

They fought, and afterward, Sabalenka went out to dinner with a sparring partner. Tursunov claimed he, at that time, became an evil person to her, and she considered her sparring partner “a good cop“.

I was very upset by her behavior, her careless attitude to the matter. Hence the scolding. At that time, she didn’t understand what was going on.

Dmitry Tursunov added

In 2019, Sabalenka and Tursunov parted ways, but only for a short time. They started working again, but toward the end of the season, they permanently ended their partnership. After working with Dieter Kindlmann, she made her longtime sparring partner, Anton Dubrov, her coach, who continues to be part of her team.

The 42-year-old, following the split with the 27-year-old, worked with Anett Kontaveit, Emma Raducanu, Belinda Bencic, and Veronika Kudermetova, but those partnerships didn’t last for a long time.

What’s next for Aryna Sabalenka?

The North American hard-court swing has started, and Aryna Sabalenka is expected to start her campaign at the Cincinnati Open, as she is not playing at the Citi Open and has pulled out of the Canadian Open. Last year in Montreal, eventual runner-up Amanda Anisimova knocked her out in the quarterfinals.

Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/Roland Garros)

In Cincinnati, the Belarusian will be aiming to defend her title. Her next goal will be to defend her US Open crown. She had played the finals at Flushing Meadows in 2023 as well, losing the match to Coco Gauff. Last year in Cincinnati, the three-time Grand Slam singles champion defeated home favorite Jessica Pegula, and the American ace later went on to lose the US Open final as well.

Sabalenka was the winner in four hard-court tournaments last year. This year, the three titles that she won were in Brisbane, Miami, and Madrid. In the Australian Open final, Sabalenka suffered a three-set defeat to Madison Keys, then at the French Open, she fell in three sets against Gauff.

At Wimbledon, her campaign was ended in the semifinals by eventual runner-up Anisimova, who later lost to World No.3 Iga Swiatek. Thrice, Sabalenka’s Major campaign this season was ended by American players. Wimbledon is the only Major where Sabalenka hasn’t yet progressed beyond the semifinals stage.

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