Aryna Sabalenka reflects on the moment when she ‘had to play without a serve’.
Aryna Sabalenka has revealed she became a better player when her career hit rock bottom.
In reflective comments after her impressive win at the Miami Open, the world No 1 looked back on a period in her career when she was struggling with her serve.
Sabalenka is on top of the tennis world after her latest WTA 1000 win, as she in a repeat of the US Open final last year, Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula 7-5 6-2 to win the marquee event in Florida.
Yet it was not always like this for the Belarusian star.
Back in 2022, Sabalenka served up 428 double faults and was even forced to serve underarm during a match as she simply lost all confidence in a key element of her game.
That version of Sabalenka is unrecognisable from the champion blowing her rivals away over the last year and she admits she understood more about the overall package she has on court when her serving problems became a major issue.
“I struggled a lot in the past with a lot of different things, so I went through really different challenges, and I was struggling with my serve so much, I couldn’t serve for a while, so I had to play without the serve,” she told reporters in Miami.
“I think that was the moment when I realized that I actually have other weapons in my game and strengths, and I can actually win the match even if my serve is not working.
“Then one day, yeah, I just decided, okay, whatever happens on the court, I’m not going to show my emotions.
“I went through a lot, and there is much more difficult stuff in life than just a tennis match, so I was, like whatever happens, I’m not going to show any emotions. I’m done with that.
“I’m not going to be that kid who’s, like, getting frustrated and losing the matches. So it worked really well, and I think it was just, like, the first year when I won the Australian Open.
“I just realised a lot of things, and since then I’m a different person, a different player. Like, the mental part of the game, it was a huge improvement.”
She was also asked about her emotions on court and how she appears to be highly critical of herself when she misses a shot.
That is in contrast to the bubbly, jovial personality she displays when she is not burdened the pressures of tennis.
“Sometimes when I’m losing several points in the row, I’m just reminding myself ‘Come on, you can fight through it, you can win this match, win the point’. I’m just reminding myself how tough I am and strong I am and that I can go through it,” she said, as she reflected on a change of mindset on court.
” I’m just helping myself and not really charging myself too much anymore on the court. Probably sometimes talk to myself about the tactic and stuff, like, Why would I do that? I don’t know.”
She also conceded her defeats in recent finals against Madison Keys at the Australian Open and Mirra Andreeva in Indian Wells earlier his month inspired her heading int the match against Pegula.
“I didn’t want to lose another final, to be honest,” she added.”It’s really tough to lose in the final. I was impressed by myself, honestly.”