“I love this girl,” Aryna Sabalenka is over the moon to have ‘best’ friend Paula Badosa cheering her on as she keeps building her game

Sabalenka's friendship with Paula Badosa is among the top on-court friendships.

“I love this girl,” Aryna Sabalenka is over the moon to have ‘best’ friend Paula Badosa cheering her on as she keeps building her game

Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka (Via Tennis.com)

Belarusian tennis ace Aryna Sabalenka won her second singles Grand Slam title last week as she beat China’s Qinwen Zheng in the 2024 Australian Open final. The 25-year-old successfully defended her crown in Melbourne as Sabalenka did not drop a single set on her way to the title win. After being crowned as the Australian Open champion for a second consecutive year, Sabalenka looked at what has changed for her.

The Belarusian talked about personal improvement and when she was asked to specify what it exactly meant, Sabalenka mentioned being more open to people. The 25-year-old then explained how being open helped her make friends on the tour.

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Sabalenka then cited her friendship with Paula Badosa as an example. The two-time singles Australian Open champion said that she has found a really good friend in Badosa who Sabalenka finds pretty similar to her. Sabalenka said that she loves the Spaniard. The Belarusian also talked about respecting people more than before.

Well, I would say that I'm more open right now. I'm happy that I was able to build some friendships, like with Paula [Badosa]. Because before I was so closed and I was so afraid to open up to people. I'm happy that I have such a friend like Paula. She's the best. I love this girl. I think we're kind of similar.
Aryna Sabalenka said to the WTA.

Aryna Sabalenka talks about her transformation with increased self-control

Sabalenka is among those athletes who never shy away from expressing their emotions. The Belarusian is someone who celebrates when she is happy and vents her frustration when things don’t go her way. This also results in some racket smashes here and there. However, the count of such instances has gone down and Sabalenka believes the increased self-control is the reason behind it.

Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X)

Talking about the personal improvement she often mentions, Sabalenka revealed how she has more control over her emotions now. The 25-year-old says that although she finds it extremely tough to hide her emotions, she is trying to stay in control, at least on the court. 

I cannot ignore the fact that I'm really proud that I was able to understand myself better. I have this control of myself. That's quite an obvious thing. Everyone sees that, but it's really tough to improve when you're such an emotional person and you're used to getting super emotional every time. To actually become really in control on court, it's really tough work.
Aryna Sabalenka said.

It is worth mentioning that Sabalenka has matured as a tennis player as emotional outbursts are rare these days. Her calm and composed demeanor has also helped in her performances as Sabalenka has made it to six semifinals in the last six Grand Slam tournaments she has played.

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