Aryna Sabalenka ended the 2024 season as the best player in the world despite not winning the WTA Finals in Riyadh. With the Belarussian on vacation in Paris, she agreed to do an interview with Andy Roddick for his ‘Served’ podcast. With this being a big achievement for Roddick the broadcaster, he got a gem of a moment from Sabalenka.
The 2003 US Open champion said that in his playing days, he could not have imagined having that kind of a connection or at least showing the real bond he had with his team in public. He meant that with tennis being a high-pressure sport, Sabalenka has shown that she can be lively and have fun with her team members too, regardless of what the public would perceive about them.
Sabalenka responded that she and none of her team members have any pretense, which is why they can have a good time together. The World No.1 claimed that it was her trainer, Jason Stacy, who placed a bet with her before the US Open 2024 that if she made it to the final, he would put a funny-looking tattoo on his head. And since Sabalenka obviously won the deal, Stacy fulfilled his promise before the big match with a temporary tattoo.
To her shock, Sabalenka could not contain her laughter and understand why Stacy did it. The Belarussian admitted that she had forgotten about the bet. Nevertheless, that moment on live television was one of the highlights of the tournament.
Sabalenka was about to say an explicit word to describe how she operates with her team but stopped in her way. Roddick chimed in by bragging that this is the only tennis podcast on YouTube to be given an ‘explicit’ rating because of some cuss words occasionally used in its content. Keeping it lighthearted and funny, an encouraged Sabalenka then claimed that –
“Yeah so we can do whatever s*** what we like to do on the court!”
Roddick could not contain his laughter with her honesty and continued that this was just the beginning as Sabalenka could use such language to explain herself. Sabalenka got philosophical in talking about how it is more important to enjoy the journey and the small moments that lead up to victories. If she doesn’t have fun, Sabalenka fears that she may retire soon due to burnout and constant pressure from the sport.
Roddick lauds Sabalenka for changing mental strength narrative in tennis
Going ahead in the podcast, Roddick referred to one of his recent discussions on Tennis Channel about Sabalenka. He claimed that she is one of those players whose highs and lows, fun moments, emotions, etc. were all visible, and yet she manages to remain mentally strong. This is because she has been able to separate the ongoings in her personal life and the money and rewards part of the sport from her game, without having a stoic demeanor all the time.
To that, Sabalenka responded that she does not believe calmness is necessarily a sign of having great mental strength. It differs with each player, but she isn’t someone who can keep everything bottled up within herself. This authenticity is something she took time to figure out, but having finally cracked that, she has significantly improved her performance over the last two seasons.
Sabalenka feels that it is okay for her to express whatever she goes through on the court and yell at her team, as long as she takes it out of her system quickly and resets herself to focus on and play the next point. This Djokovic-style mentality has worked wonders for her.
Sabalenka’s thought process is interesting and more players could look to emulate her style. The fact that for her, it is more important to live the journey rather than being perceived as a role model who has to behave in a certain way all the time could make her a delight for marketers of youth-centric brands as well.
It wouldn’t be entirely wrong to feel that Sabalenka is turning out to be a mix of Djokovic and Serena Williams, both legends of the sport. And the 2025 season could go a long way in showing if she can keep up with her mentality, as consistency also matters, apart from the fun part of the sport.
