The positive for Aryna Sabalenka is that she is getting better at losing. The negative for the sport’s dominant No 1 is obviously implied – and the defeats in grand slam finals aren’t getting any easier, either.
“It’s tennis: today you are a loser, tomorrow you are a winner,” Sabalenka reasoned. As Elena Rybakina overturned Sabalenka’s third-set lead, battling from 3-0 down in the decider to win the next five games and serve for the Australian Open title, the Belarusian’s latest defeat in a grand slam final continued a pattern.
