Aryna Sabalenka’s strive to improve herself gets praised by Darren Cahill who credits her mentality to reach the World No. 1 spot

Sabalenka became the 29th player to be ranked No. 1 in the world on the WTA Tour, last week.

Aryna Sabalenka’s strive to improve herself gets praised by Darren Cahill who credits her mentality to reach the World No. 1 spot

(L)Aryna Sabalenka; (R) Darren Cahill (Via Eurosport/tennisnet)

In what might be termed a consolation prize after a disappointing defeat at the hands of Coco Gauff in the final of the US Open 2023, Aryna Sabalenka took the World No. 1 title in the WTA singles rankings for the first time in her career last week. Heading into the tournament, the No. 2 seed, Aryna Sabalenka, had to match or better Iga Swiatek’s performance to clinch the World No. 1 title. She was guaranteed the spot after Swiatek suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round of the US Open 2023.

Tennis coach Darren Cahill showered praise on the 25-year old for her persistence on improving the game. Speaking on the ‘Advantage Connors’ podcast, hosted by tennis legend Jimmy Connors and his son Brett Connors, Cahill said, “While she’s had good coaching, the real reason she’s been able to step up is she is taking matters into her own hands. She’s taken responsibility for everything. She isn’t blaming anyone for anything.”

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“If she serves a double fault, ‘My fault.’ ‘No, I gotta fix that. I’ve gotta get out on the practice courts & work out why I’m serving these double faults’ She works incredibly hard off the court. She pushed herself to be a much better athlete,” he added.

Cahill is currently a part of World No.7 Jannik Sinner‘s coaching team. In 2017 and 2018, he coached Simona Halep to No.1 on the WTA Tour and the 2018 French Open championship.

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Aryna Sabalenka talks about her path to the No.1 spot and challenges of holding onto it

Sabalenka became the 29th player to be ranked No. 1 in the world on the WTA Tour and the second Belarusian after Victoria Azarenka. She has also held the No. 1 spot in the doubles ranking since she won the 2021 Australian Open alongside Elise Mertens. Subsequently, she is also the eighth World No. 1 in the WTA Rankings in both singles and doubles after Martina Navratilova, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, the Williams sisters, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, and Kim Clijsters.

Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek
New World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and the former World No.1 Iga Swiatek (Credits : Getty Images)

The 25-year-old Belarusian talked to WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen about her rise to the top of tennis. Sabalenka said that she started eyeing the No. 1 spot after winning the Australian Open earlier this year. She further explained that the fight for the No. 1 spot got to her head at the French Open, affecting her performances.

“As World No. 2, you’re chasing. As World No. 1, you’re kind of trying to run away from someone who is chasing you. It’s a different kind of tiger,” Sabalenka said, speaking about the difference between being World No. 2 and World No. 1. She further said that she would rather think of it as chasing her goals rather than trying to run away from somebody (chasing the No. 1 spot).

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