Tennis Hall of Famer Thinks ‘This’ Match Aryna Sabalenka Will ‘Regret the Most’

World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka took home four trophies from nine finals this season.

Tennis Hall of Famer Thinks ‘This’ Match Aryna Sabalenka Will ‘Regret the Most’

Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/HQ pics)

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Aryna Sabalenka ended the season with four titles from five finals. One of those titles includes the US Open, which she clinched for the second consecutive time by defeating home favorite Amanda Anisimova.

But twice she lost to Americans in the first two Majors of the season. First, Madison Keys denied her the three-peat at the Australian Open, following which, Coco Gauff snatched the French Open title. Sports journalist and International Tennis Hall of Fame Steve Flink, during the Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis podcast, said he thinks the Belarusian is going to regret her Australian Open defeat the most.

I guess the one she might regret the most with her kind of edge, experience, and big match playing know-how is the match to Madison Keys in the finals of the Australian Open. But still, it was a hard-fought three-set match, and Madi was coming off a win over [Iga] Swiatek, so be it. The French loss to Gauff was the one where we know Sabalenka got a little distraught over the conditions, and that was another three-setter.

Sabalenka, in fact, lost four finals where Big titles were on the line. The four-time Grand Slam singles champion, following her defeat to Keys, lost to Mirra Andreeva at Indian Wells, to Gauff at the French Open, and failed to end the season on a high note, losing the WTA Finals to Elena Rybakina, which helped the Kazakh ace improve her head-to-head record to 6-8.

Had she not won the Open, I think it would have been a very frustrating year, but instead, she knows she remained right in the thick of things everywhere, she retained her number one ranking, and I think the likelihood is that next year we will see even a little bit more success from Sabalenka.

Steve Flink added

Sabalenka also finished the season as No.1 for the second consecutive time. She had a 63-12 win-loss record this year. Last year, she lifted winner’s trophy four times from seven finals, with the titles including the Australian Open and the US Open.

Jimmy Connors on Aryna Sabalenka’s 2025 season

Jimmy Connors thinks the disappointments that Aryna Sabalenka suffered this year will motivate her to produce even better performances next year. On his Advantage Connors podcast, he recalled how, during his playing days, defeats in finals often drove him to work harder.

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

It’s just to keep in there and grinding, but also she can look back over this year and though she might say it was successful, she will see that she had three or four or five great opportunities, not to make it a really good year but an exceptionally great year. That might just drive her even more. To say, look what I was able to do, I have let this slip by, I am not going to let this happen again. 

Sabalenka will be competing once again this year. In the UAE on December 28, Naomi Osaka‘s agency Evolve will host the Battle of the Sexes. The 27-year-old will lock horns with Australian ATP ace Nick Kyrgios, who played just four tournaments this season, and was last seen in action at the Citi Open, where he played doubles along with Frenchman Gael Monfils.

Aryna Sabalenka enjoys her off-season in the Maldives

Right after losing the WTA Finals to Rybakina, Sabalenka flew off to the Maldives along with her boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis. She has been regularly updating her fans about her time on the island. In her latest Maldives post, Sabalenka wrote: “bikini-> dress all week long.”

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

Check out her post here:

Sabalenka has been dating Frangulis since last year. The Greek-Brazilian entrepreneur is the founder of Oakberry.

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