For a long time, it was believed that Aryna Sabalenka loved to play on hard courts exclusively, and while she does enjoy them a lot, she actually feels better on clay, which is a fascinating admission.
The Belarusian came up as a player who mostly dominated on hard courts. Her hard-hitting style centered around her Serena-like power, was just too overwhelming for players to deal with on a hard court, and she mostly became known as a great player on that surface.
Over the years, she proved herself to be really good on all surfaces, even though her results on hard courts still remain the best. Her maiden Grand Slam trophy and also her second major came on a hard court.
In fact, both happened in Melbourne, but she also played in the US Open final. She has never contested a Grand Slam final on a surface other than hard courts, but she greatly enjoys other surfaces as well.
She was even confused about the narrative that she doesn't like anything but hard courts. Speaking to the media at the 2024 Canadian Open in Toronto, Sabalenka admitted that she likes clay courts possibly more than hard courts.
She was on record earlier in her career, admitting that it's not the best surface for her style of play. These days, she feels best about the red dirt, which is a fascinating admission and a surprise to many.
"I love to play on clay court. I don't know why people think that this is not my best surface. I probably feel better on clay than on hard, to be honest. But, yeah, result-wise, I'm better on hard court (laughing.)"
Clay tennis dulls her game a bit because the ball bounces higher, which gives players a better chance of returning the powerful shots she has—in theory, at least.
In practice, she still overpowers most players because her shots have so much raw power. The higher bounce allows her to unload the way she likes, so it benefits her to a degree.
"Yeah, I mean, clay court is different tennis. It's longer rallies, you need to build a point, you need to finish the point. It's definitely good thing for the hard court where the points become shorter and faster, and probably physically you're better after clay court, because after playing such long rallies you feel much better playing on hard court. I guess that's what I'm taking from the clay court result is, like, my physical ability probably is better."
Overall, it's not something she concerns herself too much with. She doesn't have to because she's so good across the board that the surface doesn't really matter much.
Whether it's clay or grass or hard courts, she will be favored to win against most players on all three of the surfaces. Winning is what matters, and after beating the likes of Iga Swiatek on clay, the surface doesn't matter to the former World No. 1 anymore.
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