Sabalenka Adopted Djokovic's 'Unique Trait' To Beat Rowdy Crowds Says Her Coach
WTA
Aryna Sabalenka matured a lot before she became one of the best players in the world, and her coach, Anton Dubrov, spoke about that journey.
Sabalenka's talent was evident early in her tennis career, but it took her some time before she became a powerhouse on the WTA Tour. To get there, Sabalenka had to suffer a heartbreak or two and mature, both on and off the court.
Becoming a champion is never an easy journey, but it is almost always worth it. It was certainly worth it for Sabalenka, who became a Grand Slam champion and world number one all in the last two years.
Part of her maturing process was related to dealing with rowdy crowds. Even as she matured as a player, it remained a tricky area for her. The 2023 US Open final showed how Sabalenka can be negatively affected by a crowd that was heavily against her.
She faced Coco Gauff in the final and faltered under the tremendous pressure from the crowd, and that's something she had to overcome. She did much better this year when facing another American player.
Jessica Pegula had a fair amount of support, but Sabalenka was in the zone and just won the match fairly comfortably, even though not as easily as the score might indicate.
Her coach, Anton Dubrov, talked about Sabalenka's evolution in a recent interview with Championat, explaining how she transformed from a player who struggled with the crowds to one who doesn't.
"Your own hormone has already been developed there: when you go out onto the Arthur Ashe against the American (smiles). I think Aryna’s advantage is that she has the opportunity to become more active."
"At the early stage of her career, she went into wild stress and began not to play to her strengths and physicality, but to rush, play hyper-aggressively, behave loudly - and thus simply losing control."
Dealing with stress is not easy, but it's essential for tennis players because they face those situations a lot. How they deal with those situations will largely determine what type of player they will be. Ultimately, to be a champion, an athlete must be ready to endure many different situations.
"Now she has learned to better direct stress where she can control it, to add pressure on her opponent. This process was long. We discussed it a lot in training, but the final say was hers, because she found confirmation through wild and difficult matches - that it works: she does not need to rely on luck, but needs to slow herself down a little physically in these moments, but also emotionally."
Dubrov also mentioned Novak Djokovic, who inspired Sabalenka when it came to dealing with crowds. He notoriously dealt with hostile crowds for the majority of his career, and that's something that the Belarusian player tried learning as well.
"Novak experiences something similar when he plays, and the crowds will sometimes cheer against him. But he knows how to channel this energy. This is his unique trait - to do such this in important moments."
"This is what Aryna has started to do better at. She’s not at the same level yet, but you can strive for it, no matter how you feel."
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