“I need to build my confidence and my level back before going to the US Open” – Sabalenka

World No 3 Aryna Sabalenka, back on the tour this week for the first time since mid-June, is feeling refreshed after a much needed break enforced upon her by an injury.

The 26-year-old Belarusian retired mid-way during her Berlin quarter-final due to a shoulder injury, which later also kept her out of Wimbledon. Sabalenka, who had decided to skip the ongoing Paris Olympics due to the changing of surfaces and the effects of the same on her body, used the injury timeout to head to the Greek Islands for some downtime before arriving in Washington for this week’s Mubadala Citi DC Open.

I decided to take care of my health, to do a proper rehab, get back stronger.

Aryna Sabalenka

“I think at the end it was very important for me to take a little break,” Sabalenka said as quoted by the WTA Tour. “I had really tough, tough struggles starting from March. It didn’t stop. Like mentally, I feel more fresh and more ready to go. I feel it was really much needed, and I’ll be ready.”

“I decided to take care of my health, to do a proper rehab, get back stronger. For two weeks I was doing rehab, like a lot of exercises, a lot of treatments, a lot of recovery stuff,” she said. “It felt like a lot, like the whole day I’ve been doing, like, exercises. It felt like it’s actually time to switch off, but you’re still working out, still doing something. Then I start practicing, like slowly getting back. So far I’m doing well.”

Sabalenka, the top seed this week, will start her in Washington against either Katie Volynets or Kamila Rakhimova, and could face former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka in the third round. The Belarusian knows that she will have to work her way back to match fitness as she heads to the final Grand Slam of the season in New York in a month’s time.

“I haven’t played for a while. I felt like I need to build my confidence back and build my level back before going to the US Open. So I need to play some matches, and that’s why I’m here.”

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