ZipRecruiter Player Resume: Aryna Sabalenka has a fighting spirit

Aryna Sabalenka has quickly become one of the biggest stories of the 2023 season.

“With that newfound calm, less anxiety, and with really more clarity in between points, I think her shot selection is better because she just has that belief,” Tracy Austin said after the world No. 2 won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

Sabalenka is a powerhouse on court, a competitor who stands her ground and fights to the very last point. She is so passionate about fulfilling her potential that those emotions have often gotten the best of her.

Her 2022 season was initially memorable for all the wrong reasons: her confidence reaching an all-time low, double faulting her way through matches, and battling her mental game when she needed to befriend it the most.

She spent the spring working with a biomechanic expert who reworked her serve and rebuilt her confidence. Carrying late-season momentum from a runner-up finish at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth, she made a blistering start to 2023, roaring to the Australian Open title with the loss of just one set.

Becoming her own psychologist and working on her serve day in, day out, made all the difference coming into the 2023 season.

At the 2022 Australian Open, she averaged 5.5 aces and 15.8 double faults a match; 12 months later, she left Melbourne averaging 7.4 aces and 4.6 double faults. No wonder she is current world No. 2.

“I always had this weird feeling when people would come to me for a signature,” she admitted before taking on Elena Rybakina in what would be a classic final. “I would think ‘why are you asking for a signature? I’m a nobody.’

“I just changed how I feel. I started respecting myself more, I work so hard, I’m actually a good player,” said Sabalenka in a press conference after her Australian Open victory. “I can handle a lot of emotions, a lot of things on court. Every time I had a tough moment on court I was just reminding myself that I am good enough to handle all of this.”