Interview: Aryna Sabalenka targets Swiatek’s No.1 spot after maiden Grand Slam success

DUBAI: A little less than a year ago, Aryna Sabalenka was ready to give up on her dream of winning a Grand Slam singles title.

She had just suffered back-to-back opening-round losses in Miami and Indian Wells, and was going through some serious problems with her serve, committing 95 double faults in her first six matches of the 2022 season alone.

“After the Miami Open it was really tough. I was all over the place, it wasn’t me, I wasn’t Aryna, I was a depressed little girl,” the world No.2 told Arab News on Sunday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

“Definitely last year I was like, ‘OK, I will never get it [a Grand Slam trophy].’ It was the moment and it was a really tough period for me. But I’m happy that I got through it and still didn’t lose this belief.”

Sabalenka spent the rest of the season battling through matches, finding ways to win without her serve, and searching for solutions to recover one of her biggest assets on court.

Before the Cincinnati tournament in early August she began working with biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan, who helped her make adjustments to her serving technique.

The work immediately paid dividends as Sabalenka reached the semifinals in Cincinnati and the US Open before finishing the year with a runner-up showing at the WTA Finals and a top-five ranking to go along with it.

Carrying the momentum from a strong end to her 2022 campaign, Sabalenka kicked off 2023 with a bang, lifting the Adelaide trophy before claiming a maiden Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open.

Her triumph in Melbourne was a special full-circle moment as the 24-year-old recorded her biggest success at the same place where she had struggled a mere 12 months earlier.

Players, pundits, and