Aryna Sabalenka coach reveals ’embarrassing’ issue she had to overcome to pip Iga Swiatek
Aryna Sabalenka’s coach has explained how he helped her fix a major hole in her game.
One of Aryna Sabalenka’s coaches has shed light on the “embarrassing” problem she was forced to overcome in her quest to surpass Iga Swiatek.
The world No. 1 famously had a massive issue with her serve before becoming a multi-Grand Slam champion. In 2022, she hit 428 double faults across 55 matches.
But she tackled her serving yips head-on by hiring a biomechanics specialist, Gavin MacMillan. Since then, Sabalenka has won three Major titles and overtaken Swiatek as the world’s best player.
The Belarusian heads into the upcoming WTA Finals as the No. 1 seed and the title favourite after winning three of her last four tournaments, including the US Open.
Sabalenka has become one of the most reliable players on a hard court. But it was only a couple of years ago that her serve was letting her down in the important moments.
The 26-year-old decided to take action. She hired MacMillan in the second half of the 2022 season and their work soon paid off – she won her maiden Grand Slam title a few months later.
The man credited for ending Sabalenka’s spell of double faults has now opened up on their work, explaining why he agrees with experts’ opinions on her serving woes. “Even before I met Aryna, I disagreed with how pundits were blaming her double-fault issues on mental weakness,” he told the Telegraph.
“I thought it was the opposite. It’s an embarrassing thing to have to go through, and yet she was still going out there and battling.”
Many see the 2023 Australian Open as the turning point for Sabalenka, when her work with MacMillan came to fruition. But he believes things changed even sooner.
The Canadian biomechanics specialist continued: “That was the first thing I told her, when we started working together two years ago. ‘You’re simply doing it wrong.’
“Obviously the proof was there, because the minute she had any information, she turned it around.
“I flew in on a Friday [before the Cincinnati Open in 2022], the day after she had played Coco Gauff and double-faulted around 20 times [in Toronto]. We started Saturday morning. When she played again Thursday night, she double-faulted four or five times.”
Since coming out the other side of her serving issues, Sabalenka has been able to offer some words of advice to others in the same situation. Gauff’s second serve has been a talking point since the US Open and the world No. 1 believes she can overcome the double faults.
“I was playing that match thinking, like, Well, girl, I feel you. I feel you like nobody else,” Sabalenka said after coming back from a set and break down to beat Gauff in Wuhan.
“I know what she’s going through. This is really difficult. This is really tough. But I know that if she’ll be able to overcome this serve situation, she already one of the best players, but I’m pretty sure she’s going to be one of the greatest players.”
