Sabalenka Admits To Being 'Distracted' During 'Painful' French Open Loss Amid No. 1 Chase

Tuesday, 12 September 2023 at 13:48

bySebastian Dahlman

Aryna Sabalenka admitted that she got discredited by the No. 1 talk at Roland Garros, causing her to lose the match against Karolina Muchova.

Sabalenka was on the verge of securing the Roland Garros final by beating Karolina Muchova. It didn't happen because she threw away a huge lead in the final set to deny fans the dream matchup between Iga Swiatek and herself.

At that time, the Belarusian had a chance to secure number one, and she got a bit distracted by that. She admitted it in an interview with the WTA, explaining that it left her very angry, so she completely disregarded talk about becoming world number at the US Open.

I think at the French Open. It went into my head and I let this thing distract me. It was a little bit painful, to be honest. I was really pissed after the match because, for me, it was kind of like going back to the old habits and not focusing on myself. I was focusing on the rest of the things, which are, honestly, not really important. So I had some chances there.

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The defeat to Muchova was a really surprising one for many mostly because of how it happened. She looked in complete control and five minutes later she wasn't. It looked very much like the old Sabalenka second-guessing herself.

Wimbledon was a bit of a different story. She once again threw away a win, but it wasn't because she got distracted by outside factors but more so about reverting to old habits.

I had some chances at Wimbledon. But Wimbledon, I didn't really think about that. I also went back to the old habits where where I'm getting upset after losing my serve. I think that was the key and the answer to why I lost that match against Ons. Definitely, she played really unbelievable tennis, but to be honest, I kind of gave her this opportunity.