Signature win: Aryna Sabalenka signs fitness coach Jason Stacy’s head for luck at Australian Open

They say rubbing a bald head can bring good luck but what about autographing it?

Aryna Sabalenka seems to have cracked the code with her new superstition at the 2024 Australian Open, revealing she’s been signing fitness coach Jason Stacy’s dome before each match of her Melbourne title defense.

“We just like to do weird shit, guys!” Sabalenka exclaimed on court after surging into her second straight quarterfinal Down Under.

“We just started this. I did it before the first match, and after I won, I told Jason, ‘Well, I guess it’s a routine right now.’ He’s not happy with that but he understands everything.”

So far it seems to be working: Sabalenka is into the last eight with the loss of just 11 games, double-bageling No. 28 seed Lesia Tsurenko to reach the second week and blitzing former nemesis Amanda Anisimova, 6-3, 6-2 to put herself three wins from defending her maiden major victory.

Stacy opened up about the importance of keeping things calm for Sabalenka in the second season of Break Point, which debuted on Netflix earlier this month.

“At a Slam, there’s a lot of background noise,” Stacy said in the premiere episode “The Curse.” “You have to find a way to turn the volume down a little bit…She’s an emotional person, [and] my job is to manage it.”

Team Sabalenka will be sure to keep the sharpies handy ahead of the No. 2 seed’s quarterfinal match against either Barbora Krejcikova or Mirra Andreeva.