MELBOURNE: Aryna Sabalenka is a life lesson. A pick-me-up reel for anyone struggling with anything. She lost her father three years ago. Sergey Sabalenka was 43 and it was because of him that his daughter played tennis.
In the last few years, the Belarussian with a mounting double fault score, a savage 428 from 55 matches last year, was on shaky ground. A runaway leader in that stat on the WTA Tour, she returned to the court every day, refusing to hide. In the fall, she learnt that the issue was more physical than mental. A default setting of biomechanics.
While the action, starting with the ball toss, is work in progress, Sabalenka is running with what she's got. That was good enough for the 24-year-old to claim her maiden Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park on Saturday.
The new world No. 2 was among the leaders in the double fault count at 29 in the Australian Open, she also thundered down 46 aces, second only to Elena Rybakina (54). There were emotional scenes in Sabalenka's box on the Rod Laver Arena on Saturday. Anton Dubrov, her coach and Jason Stacy, the trainer, were on the rack for the length of the final. At the end of it, Dubrov's face was aquiver with relief.
For Sabalenka, it wasn't the doubts that led to the double faults it was the other way round. "When people asked for a signature, I had a weird feeling. I was like, why are you asking for a signature? I'm nobody. I don't have a Grand Slam," Sabalenka said.
"I changed how I feel. I started to respect myself more. I'm starting to understand that I'm here because I work so hard and I'm actually a good player." It was that realization that helped her blast her way out of that early deficit against Rybakina on Saturday.
"Every time I had a tough moment on court, I was reminding myself that I'm good enough to handle all this."
