Aryna Sabalenka is already at the 2024 Toronto WTA 1000, where she will serve as the second seed and will debut against Bucsa or Yuan. Yesterday was her inaugural press conference where only three questions were asked, but one was enough to leave us in awe. Asked about leaving behind natural surfaces – especially clay courts – to welcome the cement from now until the end of the season, the Belarusian surprised with her analysis of the different surfaces.

“I love playing on clay courts, I don’t know why people think it’s not my best surface. To be honest, I probably feel better on clay than on hard courts… although if you look at my results, I perform better on hard courts (laughs). The clay court is different from the rest, longer exchanges happen, you need to build the point. Certainly, it’s good on hard courts that the points become shorter and faster, physically you end up better than on clay, so I am happy that my physical ability is improving every day,” valued a woman who has won 12 of her 14 titles on cement.