Being a professional tennis player competing in singles events can be lonely. Players have teams that travel with them and help them prepare, but they are alone in the locker room and on the court.
That’s why players enjoy playing team events and practicing with each other as often as possible. Even though their peers are their competitors, it makes the grind of traveling and playing more fun.
The most recent example is the viral video of World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and World No. 2 Iga Swiatek training together. They are not hitting with each other. Instead, they race each other and do agility drills that children sometimes do in physical education classes.
Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka keep themselves prepared for the new season 🫡 pic.twitter.com/I7HkKPnoK0
— Mario Boccardi (@marioboc17) December 23, 2024
Both players look fully engaged in the video. This is on brand with Sabalenka’s personality, but Swiatek is showing a more relaxed side in recent months. Iga Swiatek has a new coach (Wim Fissette, Naomi Osaka’s former coach), and maybe he is exerting influence to give her more opportunities to have fun. Swiatek was stressed at the tail end of the 2024 season. She was trying to hold on to her No. 1 ranking which she later relinquished to Sabalenka and keeping things together after a failed doping test from a contaminated melatonin which she took to help her sleep amid the travel schedule and frequent time changes.
What We Learn From Aryna Sabalenka And Iga Swiatek’s Video
Both are great athletes; however, Sabalenka has great footwork and speed. Most view Coco Gauff as the fastest and best athlete on the WTA Tour, but Sabalenka should not be overlooked.
Sabalenka is seeking her third consecutive Australian Open title in January. While she is the favorite, Swiatek and Gauff will contend also.
She seems to be embracing the opportunities and challenges of being World No. 1 which was something Swiatek struggled with. The pressure of keeping the ranking and trying to be unbeatable wore her down.
The video is a great example of women being friendly competitors which is not always the case on the WTA Tour. Qinwen Zheng does not believe in this idea.
