Sabalenka reflects on “good problem” facing her
The world No 1 has a 50/50 record in finals this year
Aryna Sabalenka after the Madrid final (Zuma/PSNewz)
In Aryna Sabalenka’s career thus far, she has won 20 singles titles – and finished as runner-up 17 times.
This year, her record on reaching a final is 50/50 – she lifted the trophy at Madrid, Miami and Brisbane, and missed out at the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Stuttgart.
Ahead of the Italian Open in Rome, though, she dismissed the idea that it was any big issue.
“Honestly, that’s a good problem to have,” she told journalists at a press conference. “At the same time some of the finals I lost were really heartbreaking and were really tough to kind of like accept. At the same time I understand that sometimes you just have to learn and sometimes you’re not that good on court, you just have to accept, learn from that loss, and come back stronger.
“What I’m actually proud of that I was able to come back in those finals and I was able to change things and see if the lesson was learned, try to bring better tennis in the next final.”
Sabalenka – Do not stay in the past
She currently holds a rankings lead over Iga Swiatek of more than 4,000 points, with more than 11,000 points accumulated, but she is trying not to think about that as she aims for the next trophy win.
“I always say going to reflect on the season by the end of the season. Right now, I mean, if I think about what I was able to achieve this season already, I’m like, Wow, that’s a lot. But I try to take it one step at a time and focus on each tournament, each match, do not stay in the past.
“But yeah, I think so far this season been super nice to me!”
