When power meets poise

Before 2023, anybody who had watched Aryna Sabalenka at her best would have wondered why she had not made it past the semifinals of a Grand Slam singles event. She had the ‘big game’ — a powerful serve and a crushing forehand, a combination that her idols Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova possessed and one that lends itself to going all the way at a Major. 

But in 19 singles main-draw appearances between 2017 and 2022, Sabalenka did not progress past the fourth round on 16 occasions. The three times she did, she exited in the semifinals. In an era of women’s tennis where breaking through is a relatively common occurrence — there were as many as 15 first-time Grand Slam winners between 2015 and 2022 — Sabalenka’s struggles were all the more stark. 

So when the 24-year-old won her maiden Grand Slam in Australia this year, it felt like validation — not just for Sabalenka but also for her supporters and those who rated her game. It was also the culmination of an inspiring journey of self-discovery which had started at rock bottom.

Twelve months earlier, her serve was in pieces, leaving her in tears as her confidence was shredded under attacks of debilitating nerves. Reduced to serving underarm in a disastrous lead-up to Melbourne in 2022, she was suffering a severe case of the ‘yips’. Over the season, she dished out more than 400 double-faults! 

Malfunctioning weapon

Imagine a point-ending weapon, a cannonball serve, malfunctioning when you most need it. It isn’t merely unnerving, it’s career-threatening. That was Sabalenka’s plight for a large part of 2022. But it was also a year in which her resilience stood out, for she began piecing her serve back together and fortifying her mental game, simply refusing to yield. 

Sabalenka has a tattoo of a tiger on her arm, which has earned her the nickname ‘The Tiger’, but it wasn’t until last year, she said, that she really started living its spirit.

“I became more of a fighter than I used to be,” she said. “Before it was just, like, a nice tattoo. [But last year] I was fighting with myself, which is a completely different fight, and I learned a lot about myself. The [2022] season started as the worst season, but in the end I think it was the best season for me because I became even stronger, and like mentally stronger.”

Sabalenka approached her problems with an open mind, seeking solutions not just from her coaching team but also from a sports psychologist and a biomechanical specialist. 

During her run to the semifinals of the 2022 US Open, she was working with a biomechanics trainer to confront the technical root of her issues and build a new service motion. Tweaking technique mid-tournament is hard enough; full-scale reconstruction is incredibly risky. But Sabalenka’s courageous attitude shone through.

Things began to click into place at the WTA Finals, where she won a significant psychological victory. Although beaten in the final by Caroline Garcia, Sabalenka toppled Iga Swiatek in the semifinals. 

It wasn’t merely the avenging of a loss: Swiatek had defeated Sabalenka in the semifinals of the US Open. It was also affirmation that Sabalenka could beat an ‘unbeatable’ player. Swiatek, in addition to having a dominant head-to-head record against Sabalenka, had built a streak of 37 wins and had not lost in 15 matches against top-ten players. But Sabalenka subdued the World No. 1, sealing the massive upset win with the last of 12 aces.

Sabalenka carried this momentum into 2023, winning the Adelaide International 1 title ahead of the Australian Open. She did it, moreover, after dropping her sports psychologist in pre-season — a big decision, but one she was convinced of.

Taking responsibility

“I realised that nobody other than me will help, you know?” she explained. “I spoke to my psychologist, saying: ‘I feel like I have to deal with that by myself because every time hoping that someone will fix my problem, it’s not fixing my problem.’ I decided that I have to take responsibility and deal with that. I’m my own psychologist.”

In Melbourne, she was often imperious. She did not drop a set on her way to the final, her power game overwhelming opponents. The shaky serve that had haunted her so badly was now a thing of the past, replaced by a cleaner, meaner version. 

And never was her new mental steel better illustrated than under the glare of the Rod Laver Arena lights in the final, where Sabalenka clawed her way back after losing her first set of the tournament (and year) to beat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

She needed four match-points to serve out and clear the final hurdle, a double-fault costing one of them as the tension became almost unbearable. But the new version of Sabalenka kept calm and carried on where the old one would have wilted, to become the Australian Open champion.

“I still feel like I’m on another planet trying to understand what just happened,” she said. “It was just too crazy, I was just super happy that I was able to handle all the emotions and break through this wall.”

So what now for Sabalenka, who will be a marked woman and regarded very differently when she next hits the circuit as a reigning Grand Slam champion? “Yeah, it’s going to be different,” she said, adding that she was enjoying her time off because she needed “to calm down and start over again”.

There will be opportunities to add to her trophy cabinet, but she does not yet know if she will be able to compete in Wimbledon, where the grass suits her style. The Belarusian, a semifinalist in 2021, was one of several high-ranked players blocked from Wimbledon last year after the All England Club implemented a ban on Russian and Belarusian players in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

While her Grand Slam schedule may have an air of uncertainty about it, there are no doubts over what she can achieve once she sets her mind to it. For, her success in conquering her inner demons proves that Sabalenka now knows how to find a zen-like peace while losing none of her inner competitive tiger.