Aryna Sabalenka is the new queen of the Australian Open 2023. A success that gives her great confidence in view of the rest of the season, after stopping three times in the semifinals, once at Wimbledon and twice at the US Open.
Thanks to this amazing start, the Belarusian also conquered her Best ranking, reaching second place, behind the dominatrix Iga Swiatek. The 24-year-old returned to the brightest moment of her career so far, explaining that her growth has also come from some painful defeats: Aryna explained: “It was like a dream, sometimes it felt like I would wake up, disappointed that it wasn’t real.
I am very happy with this victory and due to my level of tennis I had to fight hard for this trophy. To get this win like this was incredible. I didn’t expect to cry, but many thoughts formed in my head, I felt very proud of myself and happy for my whole team.
It was the best moment of my life so far. I’ve been through some very difficult times this past year, but they say everything happens for a reason, I just couldn’t figure out why. What did I do wrong to deserve this? Now that I have it, I finally get it.
I wouldn’t have won a Grand Slam without having a hard time, I would definitely keep screaming or crying on the court instead of playing tennis.”
Aryna Sabalenka: “I feel like I’m on another planet”
She then added: “That’s why I’ve become a different player, I’ve become calmer on the court, I’ve started to respect myself a little more.
Today I believe more in myself, that’s what helped me. In the past After losing the first set, I think I would have gone crazy with myself, to the point of easily giving him the second. But this time I kept fighting, I forced myself to move a little better, play a little deeper and catch the ball early to make her uncomfortable.
I just had to keep her moving, work for every point, but the main thing was to keep fighting. In a Grand Slam final, nobody will make things easy for you. Winning a Grand Slam is a great relief, but it’s also like a drug, I want to try again.
It motivates me a lot, I want to improve and become the best, I know I still have a lot to work on on the track. Right now I still need a couple of days to realize everything that happened, I feel like I’m on another planet, trying to figure out what just happened. This was the best morning of my life.”
