Aryna Sabalenka recently had a playful crack at assembling her dream women’s tennis player, blending current stars with a nod to retired great Ashleigh Barty, who snagged two spots. The world No. 1, a three-time Grand Slam champ, namedropped rivals like five-time Major winner Iga Swiatek, 2023 US Open victor Coco Gauff (who bested her in that final), current Australian Open champ Madison Keys, and 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina.
Tasked with picking the best forehand, backhand, serve, and return in the WTA, Sabalenka—who once battled serve woes before fixing them with a biomechanics coach—started with a grin: “Serve? On a good day, me. Forehand? [ATP No. 1 Jannik] Sinner. Can I do that?” Told it was WTA-only, she laughed, “Forehand? Backhand? I’m just so in love with myself on good days, I can’t think of anyone else! Can you believe me? Wait—serve, Elena [Rybakina] when she’s on. Forehand… Andrei [Vasilevski, hitting partner], help me out! Oh, Madison [Keys]. What else? Volley?”
Struggling with backhand and return, she groaned, “You’re killing me here! Coco [Gauff] is solid. Thanks for the assist, guys—anyone else? Let’s skip this. I’m terrible at it. Return? Oh, Iga. Iga’s great. Serve was Elena. Volley, [Ashleigh] Barty. Slice, Barty too.”
Before Indian Wells kicked off, Sabalenka also dished on the WTA’s funniest players. “Ons [Jabeur] is hilarious. Grigor Dimitrov too—he’s a riot,” she said. “Honestly, we all have quirky sides, so it’s hard to pick just one.” She stressed that humor is key to surviving the grind of elite tennis. “It’s about balance,” she explained. “This tough tennis life needs a bit of fun off-court so you don’t lose it out there. I’m always preaching balance—it’s crucial to enjoy yourself away from the game.”
