Australian Open
Queen of Melbourne: Two Faces of Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka taking a photo
© Mark Baker/AP
Aryna Sabalenka defended her title in Melbourne with impressive dominance. She shows no mercy in the match. She is completely different off the court.
Aryna Sabalenka celebrated the second Grand Slam title of her career with her team. On TikTok the old and the new left Melbourne queen let her fans see how she danced around the room drunk with joy with friends and companions. “It’s about having fun. We always do crazy things,” said the number two in the tennis world after her never-threatened 6:3, 6:2 against the Chinese Zheng Qinwen in the final of the Australian Open.
Have fun off the court
Sabalenka also joked and joked with the photographers in an elegant white dress at the traditional Champions photo shoot at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton Gardens on Sunday. Images that you can hardly imagine when you watch the 25-year-old on the tennis court. As relaxed and relaxed as the Belarusian, who has matured extremely in recent years, appears off the court, she is just as focused and dogged during the games.
“It’s good that there are two Arynas, one on the pitch and one off the pitch,” Sabalenka said. “Because if I was like I was on the court off the court, I would probably be very alone.”
Impressive dominance
Sabalenka shows no mercy on the tennis court. All of her opponents felt this in Melbourne this year. From the German qualifier Ella Seidel in the first round to US Open champion Coco Gauff in the semi-finals to the Chinese Zheng Qinwen in the one-sided final that only lasted 76 minutes – no one had a chance against Sabalenka in top form at Melbourne Park.
With her powerful groundstrokes and her strong serve, she dictated what was happening on the court every second. The reward: Sabalenka rushed through the first Grand Slam tournament of the season without losing a set and was able to deservedly receive the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup from the hands of Australia’s tennis legend Evonne Goolagong on Saturday.
As the fifth player this century after Lindsay Davenport in 2000, Maria Sharapova in 2008, Serena Williams in 2017 and Ashleigh Barty in 2022, she did not drop a set in Melbourne.
Title as confirmation
With her first Grand Slam title last year, Sabalenka also conquered her own doubts. In terms of potential, she had long been considered a contender for victory at major tournaments, but often showed nerves in the crucial phases. But with hard work, she not only got her sometimes shaky serve under control, but also learned to deal with the pressure. “It was a long journey,” said Sabalenka, describing the process over the past few years.
If winning the title in 2023 was a triumph against doubts, the triumph in 2024 is one of confirmation. “It was very important to me not to be one of those players who wins a title and then disappears,” said Sabalenka.
More titles as a goal
Now more titles are to follow. “I think I showed last year that I can play successfully on any surface,” said Sabalenka, who reached at least the semifinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments last year. “If I continue to work as I have been, I am convinced that I can also be successful on clay and grass,” she said, referring to the following Grand Slams in Paris and Wimbledon.