“If it weren’t for tennis, I don’t know where I would be right now”: Sabalenka opened up about her hardest moments

Aryna Sabalenka She is going through a few weeks of rest after becoming champion of the Miami Open and dropping out of the WTA 500 in Stuttgart. As you prepare to participate in the WTA 1000 Madridthe world number one gave an interview where she talked about the hardest moments she had to go through on a personal level and that strengthened her to be the person (and player) she is today.

In dialogue with the media esquirethe Belarusian recalled that moment in 2022 where she couldn’t connect her serve and that became a nightmare for her: “I would never wish it on my worst enemy. It was hard, because imagine dedicating yourself to something your whole life, trying your hardest, loving the sport, and suddenly, just like that, you can’t serve. And then you fight, you fight, and you get to the point of giving up. Mentally, that’s hard. It was a difficult period, but it made me stronger than ever. Nowadays, I trust that, even if my serve is not going well, I can continue fighting and trying to win the match without it. It was hard, but at the same time, a very good moment and a great lesson for me.”

Another very difficult moment for Sabalenka was the sudden death of his father, Sergey, who passed away in 2019. “When you go through a loss, it is important to keep working and stay distracted. At the same time, it is important to cry, to let yourself be carried away by your emotions. You should never repress them, because they will destroy you inside. I was letting it out, but I was able to go to the court and train. If it weren’t for tennis, I don’t know where I would be right now.” expressed the best player in the world very sensitively.

Finally, the Belarusian recalled when in her childhood and adolescence, few people believed in her: “That’s what you have to deal with! They would never come up to you and say, ‘Don’t you think you need to work on that to get better?’ No, they just talk behind your back. They destroy your confidence, but at the same time, I’m glad it happened, because I had something that drove me to prove them wrong.”