Sabalenka confident, ahead of Roland-Garros assault: “I definitely feel stronger than ever (on clay)
The world No 1 is looking to win her first non-hard court Grand Slam.
Zuma/Psnewz
Aryna Sabalenka has sent a start warning to all of her competitors ahead of Roland Garros, stating that she is: “stronger than ever (on clay).
The world No 1 has enjoyed a successful clay-court season, which included a run to the title at the Madrid Masters and a final appearance in Stuttgart.
“I’m super happy to be back [in Paris],” she stated, during her pre-tournament press conference at Roland Garros.
“I love this tournament. It’s super beautiful, and I’m just super excited to start my first match here.
“I think throughout the years I improved a lot, and today I feel physically, mentally, and I think my game is pretty much ready to play on clay. Yeah, I definitely feel stronger than ever [on clay].”
I definitely feel stronger than ever [on clay]
Sabalenka is seeking her first Grand Slam title not to come on a hard court, with her best result in Paris occurring at the 2023 edition – where she reached the semi-finals, before falling to Karolina Muchova.
In fashion typical of the Belarusian, the best WTA player in the world is searching for the title, and nothing less.
“I think at this point of my career, yeah, it’s all about winning the titles, the big trophies, and I think you have to set up really huge goals for yourself,” said Sabalenka.
“Yeah, maybe sometimes really crazy goals. Yeah, I’m more into, like, winning than just reaching the finals, because losing in the final sucks, I hate it, so that’s not the goal for me.”
“I mean, honestly, preparation-wise, there is no difference,” stated the world No 1, when asked about the differences between defending a Grand Slam and arriving at an event which she has never won.
“Mentally, and like in my head, there is no difference. It honestly doesn’t matter your ranking when you arrive in the big tournaments, as we see in the past.
“There is so many crazy upsets happening. So ranking doesn’t really matter anymore. I’m just trying to focus on my game, and nowadays I know I can do well in clay, so arriving here, I feel really strong and super excited, and hopefully this is going to be the year when I’m really going to be proud of myself on the clay court.”
The three-time Grand Slam champion will begin her Roland-Garros campaign against Kamilla Rakhimova, with 27th seed Leylah Fernandez likely awaiting in the third round, and one of Amanda Anisimova and Clara Tauson projected to be her fourth-round opponent.
Zheng Qinwen is the highest seed in her quarter, with Jasmine Paolini – who won the title in Rome – being her projected last four opponent.
