Aryna Sabalenka had her best season by far in 2023, and quite a few things contributed to that, including a huge change in mindset.
Sabalenka has been one of the better players for a few years, but things never quite clicked enough. Often compared to Serena Williams, the Belarusian lacked the consistency of the legendary player.
Sure, she could hit a tennis ball through a hole on any given day, but if you miss more than you hit, you're going to have a problem.
Eventually, she changed her approach with several things, unlocking consistency and precision on the serve, which completely changed her career trajectory.
She won a maiden Grand Slam trophy and then put together an impressive year, arguably the most consistent of all the top players, which is particularly impressive considering her previous track record.
Part of what unlocked it is simply accepting that she can lose and will be beaten if she doesn't play enough. It allowed her to kind of calm down in crucial moments because the worst case that can happen is losing, and that's not the end of the world.
The Belarusian is aware of that and spoke about it ahead of the 2024 Brisbane International, where she's set to start her new season as the world no. 2, and a former world no. 1.
Well, actually I think I did a big change, like, in my mindset last year. I kind of, like, accept the fact that I can lose, that everyone can go there and beat me if I'm not bringing my best tennis.
Kind of like accepting this fact give you more belief. You're more calm on the court in those crucial moments. I think that's why I'm kind of like not putting myself under pressure.
We've seen that play out in real-time a few times. The Australian Open triumph wasn't smooth sailing for Sabalenka as she actually lost the opening set but then rallied to win the next two.
We've seen it happen more than a few times as well, but we also saw the opposite. She lost quite a few matches after winning the opening set, which showed that it was still something she was working on, and we'll see the effects of that in the coming months.
Worst case, what happen? I'm going to lose a Grand Slam, lose some points, drop a little bit in the ranking. There's so many tournaments ahead. I'm going to try to do my best to be in another Grand Slam or in other tournaments. That's why I like my mindset, you can beat me. But I'm going to prepare every match and have huge chances to win the match after match, probably to hold the trophy.
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