“Calmness does not show mental toughness” – Aryna Sabalenka opens up about not being a ‘no-emotions’ player
Throughout her early years on the WTA Tour, Aryna Sabalenka was known for her erratic on-court temperament. The Belarusian would often find herself struggling to keep her emotions in check, especially when things were not going her way. This directly had an adverse effect on her results, and her mental toughness was scrutinized as well.
However, in 2023, Aryna Sabalenka drastically improved the on-court management of her emotions. This, combined with her aggressive style of tennis, translated to her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2023 Australian Open and a run to the final of the US Open. In 2024, she successfully defended her Australian Open title and also registered a title triumph at the US Open.
Recently, Aryna Sabalenka joined Andy Roddick for an episode of the Served With Andy Roddick podcast. The reigning WTA World No. 1 told the former ATP World No. 1 how appearing calm has never worked for her in terms of being mentally tough.
“I absolutely agree with you that calmness does not show mental toughness. For some people it works. It’s not like there’s just one way. Some people, that’s just the way they are. They hold everything inside. For me personally, I don’t know, for many years I was trying to figure my emotions, everyone would tell me I have to keep it inside, I have to stay calm, I have to be like that player, like a no-emotions player, but this is not who I am,” Aryna Sabalenka said. (at 14:34)
The 26-year-old went on to talk about the emotional exchanges she has with her team as an example of her unique way of being herself. Sabalenka also revealed that whenever she tries to keep things inside, it negatively affects her clarity of thought.
“And we spoke with the team and that’s why sometimes you see those funny videos of me yelling at my team, throwing the racket at the US Open, which I didn’t actually throw. I was trying to pass the racket to my coach, but whatever. And we have these emotional moments, and it works for me, because for me, if I hold it all inside, I get too crazy and it’s so much of heaviness inside. I cannot think clean,” Sabalenka added.
Earlier in the same episode, the Belarusian had opened up about finishing 2024 as the WTA World No. 1 for the first time in her career.
“Probably that’s why I lost my focus” – Aryna Sabalenka on how year-end World No. 1 publicity impacted her WTA Finals 2024 campaign
Aryna Sabalenka kickstarted her 2024 WTA Finals campaign with two back-to-back wins in the Round Robin phase against Zheng Qinwen and Jasmine Paolini. Meanwhile, rival Iga Swiatek, who Sabalenka had earlier dethroned from the top spot on the WTA Tour rankings, lost her second match. These developments confirmed that the Belarusian would finish the year as the top-ranked women’s tennis player in the world.
However, this had a negative effect on Sabalenka’s mindset, as the Belarusian herself revealed to Andy Roddick.
“After winning two matches, the news was everywhere, and I was like, oh, no, please just don’t do that to me. And I probably that’s why I lost my focus kind of and I don’t know, I like at that moment, I felt like I did everything I could in this season. I was like, I don’t have any energy left to compete and to fight,” Sabalenka said.
Aryna Sabalenka would go on to lose her final Round Robin match to Elena Rybakina. By this point, the Belarusian had already sealed her spot in the semifinals of the prestigious year-end event. In the semifinals, though, she was downed in straight sets by eventual champion Coco Gauff.
