Do not take Aryna Sabalenka lightly at Wimbledon fortnight

The question is if Aryna can turn her power game into a glorious one on grass, a surface not alien to her.

Do not take Aryna Sabalenka lightly at Wimbledon fortnight

Aryna Sabalenka (Image Credits: Tennis World USA)

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka must be loving the fact all the attention at The Championships starting on Monday in Wimbledon is on Iga Swiatek. Yet, there will be nervous energy and apprehension, in small measure, for the winner of the Australian Open this January. Why?

Well, Sabalenka was not allowed to enter Britain last year (2022) as Wimbledon had banned Russians and Belarussians, a mindless decision. It required prodding, then a nudge, and eventually arm-twisting from the guardian angels of tennis, the ATP and WTA, to convince the All England Club in 2023. Agreed, Britain and Europe are heavily on Ukraine’s side as crazy Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to wage a sanguine war.

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Last year, everyone in Britain, and even now, was anti-Russia. Restricting the players’ entry in 2022 was wrong. This time, Wimbledon had to change, as there were so many risks involved. It will be easy to say, “All is well, ends well.” That would be philosophical, in theory.

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Be sure, when the action begins on July 3, tennis fans and Britons will show their true colors, and boo the Russians and Belarussians, as was witnessed in Melbourne as well. At the Australian Open, hatred had reached crazy proportions, where even Novak Djokovic‘s dad Srdjan was dragged into the controversy with a Russian flag.

Why is one talking about all this? Simply because a player like Aryna Sabalenka will be aware, there will be hostility ahead. How well the organizers are able to control fans remains to be seen. Wimbledon is associated with fashion, good manners, etiquette. Aryna will be hoping the Britons maintain the same composure when she steps on grass.

One has seen in the last 16 odd months, players have pleaded — Russians as well as Belarussians — they are not waging the war. Somehow, athletes have been targeted, wrongly. It has been mindless, really. Aryna had the pedigree to triumph in melting Melbourne in the final this January at the AO. To think she has done nothing after that will be wrong.

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Aryna Sabalenka is not a pretender, but the contender

Aryna Sabalenka (1)
Aryna Sabalenka (Image Credits: AP)

Aryna has the power game. The question is if she can turn it into a glorious one over the next fortnight on grass, a surface not alien to her. The experts and pundits attach far too much importance to warm-up grass events. Pray, winning in these events does not mean one is going to peak at SW 19 5AE, the postal code of Wimbledon.

The requirements for succeeding in the third Grand Slam of the season are different. You need the strokes, forehand, backhand, good serve. Oh, volleys, they are almost extinct, unless a player comes up with the occasional drive volley from mid-court range. For the record, Aryna Sabalenka made the final in Indian Wells, Stuttgart, and Madrid.

At the French Open, Aryna seemed on course. When she won five rounds, it seemed she would set up the big bash with the top seed at Wimbledon Iga Swiatek! No, there was a change in the script. Breakpoint, not the serial types, but the real one. Aryna’s winning run was halted by Karolina Muchova. Heck, who was this girl, ruining the dream run of the Belarussian? Well, that’s tennis, a few games and the loss of two sets in women’s tennis means curtains.

Aryna Sabalenka did not cry, really. In fact, when her visa for entering Britain got delayed, she was apprehensive. That’s a bit like taking exams and wondering whether the person glossing over the answer sheets is in a good mood or not! Aryna got her visa. Now it’s up to her to turbo-charge her game. To be sure, there is no big difference on the grass between her and the rest of the field.

This is Aryna Sabalenka’s fifth campaign at Wimbledon, so do not think she is a pretender. She is a contender. “I really like to play at Wimbledon,” says Sabalenka. “I like the feeling of grass and I think my game is suited to it. I enjoy the atmosphere. I can’t wait to show my best tennis,” she said on Friday.

Did we hear John McEnroe say, “You cannot be serious!”

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